Jetstar to Wuhan
 

? Is how much has the Queensland Gov. / Gold Coast council had to pay Jetstar .

Boy, is that ever going to be an overnight to look forward to

According to Wiki, Wuhan has a population of >10 million and is to be China's fourth international hub airport after Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai-Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun.

Wonder who will do the Mandarin PAs?

They will just hire some more Thai flight attendants and teach them a few phrases.

On my last JQ international flight almost all of the CC were Thai. Whats up with that? MEL-HNL

wow population over 10m & never heard of it.


Lot of growth in air travel to come out of China. Good move by whoever put this deal together.

I understand the service is closer to the European holiday charter airline model than true RPT. The majority of the commercial risk is carried by Dalian-based Wanda Group, a conglomerate of businesses, one of which specialises in travel and tourism. So a win for Jetstar and for Gold Coast tourism I would think - and anyone on the coast who wants to visit Wuhan :confused::confused:

the Dalian based Wanda Group is bankrolling construction of The Jewel on the Gold Coast, a $1bn hotel/apartment complex.

This helps them fill it with a captive market.

You'd be surprised at the number of cities in China with multi million populations that no one has ever heard of. The cabin crew will have to be Chinese speakers so no doubt a good excuse to hire foreigners on less than half of Aussie pay rates.

Mainland Chinese are not the favourite passengers of our cabin crews so look forward to a few incidents on board.

......well of course unsophisticated Chinese travellers from Wuhan would be beneath the educated elite that make up the Jetstar cabin crew.

Wasn't there a 'near muntiny' in PVG on a JQ flight a few years ago? I'm sure the brand suffered a bashing amongst the locals.


Fuel-Off :ok:

Quote:

---

the Dalian based Wanda Group is bankrolling construction of The Jewel on the Gold Coast, a $1bn hotel/apartment complex.

---

I wonder who is on the "other" side of that deal.

Some history: Crikey.com


Qantas and the Niseko Hanazono ski resort

Dec 07, 2004 12:00AM



Of all the ski resorts in the world, why has Qantas started flying to
Sapporo, near the Niseko Hanazono ski resort, in Japan?
Qantas starts flying to Sapporo - a coincidence?
Crikey email - 30 November
An observant skier writes:Indeed, Qantas is advertising a 7 night
package, complete with accommodation to ski Sapporo on their website,
with flights leaving from almost ever major city in Australia flying to
Sapporo, via Cairns with Australian Airlines.
The
flights are seasonal and only run twice a week during the Northern
hemisphere’s ski season from November to March, but it’s certainly a
very convenient set up for Donazzan and Hackworth’s new business
venture.
However, we know Margaret Jackson is very aware of conflicts of
interest so the decision was most likely taken by AA management
independent of their chairman. It would, however, be interesting to
know what Donazzan new at the time of his purchase.
Read more about the Niseko Hanazono purchase here.
Is Hanazono a lame destination for Qantas?
Crikey email - 1 December
Another observant, and curious, skier writes:
The question you pose at the end of your piece on the Australian
purchase of the Hanazono ski area and flights by Australian Airlines is
interesting, but there are some other intriguing aspects of the whole
story that could do with some elucidation too.
Niseko is undoubtedly a beautiful ski area with terrific snow and
an easy, laid-back rural Japanese atmosphere, and it is not at all
surprising that large numbers of Australians, as well as skiers from
many other countries, are now enjoying it.
On a recent visit there, I discovered two buildings had been
purchased by Australians as private ski chalets - one by Margaret
Jackson and the other by Colin Hackworth. What was interesting was that
both buildings are right in the middle of the ski lodge zone of
downtown Hirafu, and nowhere near the Hanazono development that
Australian Alpine Enterprises (AAE) appears to have bought into, and
will try to sell to Australian investors.
In practical terms, these purchases make sense, as Hirafu is the
most developed part of the Niseko ski areas, with hotels, restaurants,
bars, easy access to the warm, sunny side of the slopes and with
spectacular views across the picturesque Niseko valley to Mt Yotei.
But why - if Hanazono is the key investment property, and its
future development appears to hinge on sales of real estate around the
foot of the ski slope - did Jackson and Hackworth not buy there, where
their purchases might have given a lead to the investors AAE would
appear to be hoping to attract?
Part of the answer at least is provided by the locals, who simply
raise an eyebrow and ask who would WANT to go to Hanazono? Obviously
they don’t. Hanazono is on the wrong side of the mountain, exposed to
cold Siberian winds and lacking the full-frontal view of the glorious
Mt Yotei.
Even the local tourist literature makes a distinction between
Niseko and Hanazono, most of it listing the three main ski areas
Annupuri, Higashiyama and Hirafu in large, bold type, with Alpen Kogen
Hanazono appearing as an appendage in smaller, lighter type.
No doubt the very cash-strapped Tokyu - like all of Japan’s other
“bubble era” developers - would love to see an influx of new Australian
buyers to lighten the shade of red ink its dilapidated Hanazono
development. Maybe this is what the AAE-Tokyu deal is all about, and if
so, you would have to ask who has the better end of it?
You could also ask what the Jackson and Hackworth purchases in the
picturesque and centrally located Hirafu say about their own confidence
in the future of Hanazono, which is being spoken of in hushed tones as
a very major investment by an Australian company in Japan.
Choosing Cathay Pacific over Qantas
A Hokkaido resident writes:

My experiences with Qantas flying back and forth between Australia
and Japan over a long period of time are too horrible to inflict upon
your sensitive readers - not to mention my inability to ever book a
return flight anywhere using mileage points.
Suffice to say that I now go out of my way to fly via Hong Kong on
Cathay Pacific, even though that entails a lot of extra time and one
overnight stopover per return trip. The difference in levels of service
and attitude is stunning.



Ironically, after all Qantas’ stinginess with FF issues, my Cathay
Pacific miles appear to have kicked in at Qantas, because they have
just awarded me Silver FF status when I haven’t flown with them for
yonks!! A shame, as I have no inclination to ever use itgl

So the crews will get to enjoy a 3 night layover..

Oh dear :sad:

Wuhan is huge, pretty, and very, very central!
 

I visit Wuhan quite often (my girlfriend lives there...). It's not what you think...

The population is very close to 12 million, which puts it on the same level as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong.

My girlfriend is a professor at a University there: when I asked her how many universities there were in town she said "About 100". Sydney has five... (depending what you count...).

Many of China's cars are made in Wuhan: VW, GM, PSA Peugeot Citroën all have large plants there. Renault is there, Honda is coming. But the big one is probably Dongfeng which is on a scale to worry General Motors: think trucks, busses, railway locomotives...

'Course, I go there mainly for the food (the GF hates cooking...). The pollution is not as bad as many places in China. The scenery is nice. Wuhan is practically in the geographic centre of China, which should give international airlines an opportunity to create a hub that doesn't have one-hour hold queues to get down, like Beijing.

Mind you, I probably *won't* be choosing one-star as my carrier of choice. I have a bit of a middle-age spread, which makes ten hours in a sardine can something I would rather not do to myself.

Pity China Southern took its A380 off the route :{

What about Visas?
 

72 Hour Free Transit Visas are available at Beijing, Shanghai and more recently Guangzhou. It took over 12 months of lobbying by China's largest airline (China Southern) to have the transit visa introduced to Guangzhou. So good luck too Jetstar if they are looking for the same treatment. Otherwise their cheap fare customers will be in for an expensive shock when they apply for their visa. As usual the geniuses at JQ have thought of everything

I daresay most of the passengers getting off the plane in Wuhan will be Chinese residents returning from a holiday of shopping, gambling and koala-petting so nothing really to worry about. I expect any Aussie pax who travel to Wuhan will be cream on top of what the tour company will be providing.

Is this even still happening?

Yeah thanks. Not available to book online, seems Charter only!

Singapore based cabin crew will be crewing it. I'd imagine they speak mandarin.

Soooo... How exactly does Australia benefit? Chinese Tourists giving money to a Chinese Tour Company (Dalian Wanda) that are Chartering an Aircraft crewed by mostly Foreign Crew going to go stay in Hotels that are owned by the same Company (Dalian Wanda) and undoubtedly doing Local Tours that are conducted by companies also owned and operated by the same Chinese Company (Dalian Wanda).

Interesting to note they also bought Hoyts recently and god knows what else they own over here. So once again, how exactly will this benefit Australia?

"Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive David Hall said the new flights would deliver substantial economic benefits to the tourism and hospitality sector on the Gold Coast."

Righto! :ok: