I49 Air and Space Transport

Dollar discourages US trips: United Airlines

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Original article by Lisa Allen
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Dec-15

United Airlines has reported a fall in the number of Australian tourists flying to the US. Brian Znotins, vice-president for network planning at the airline, believes that this trend is the result of the weakness of the Australian dollar against the US currency. There will be no increase in the airline’s services from Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles.

CORPORATES
UNITED AIR LINES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Staying fit can earn you Qantas flyer points

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 & 14 : 24-Nov-15

Members of a new customer loyalty program will be rewarded for being physically active. Qantas has partnered with health insurer NIB Holdings to develop a new program, Qantas Assure, which will offer frequent flyer points to NIB customers. Members of the scheme will also receive extra points for meeting fitness targets which will be measured by wearable technology. The new scheme will be launched in the first half of 2016.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Cathay Pacific to trial cargo flight from Australia’s food bowl

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 23-Nov-15

Bindaree Beef will participate in Cathay Pacific’s test flight from Wellcamp Airport in regional Queensland to China. The trial run is intended to gauge whether regular fresh produce flights from regional Australia to Asia are commercially viable. Bindaree currently ships chilled beef to Asia via Sydney Airport, but flights from Toowoomba would allow for next-day delivery of its cargoes to Asian destinations.

CORPORATES
BINDAREE BEEF PTY LTD, CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS LIMITED, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, SHANDONG DELISI, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS AND SCIENCES

Qantas back from ‘junk’ credit rating

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 18-Nov-15

Standard & Poor’s has upgraded the credit rating of Qantas to "BBB-" with a "stable" outlook. Qantas had lost its investment-grade credit rating in December 2013 due to its financial problems. Meanwhile, CEO Allan Joyce is upbeat about the outlook for the airline, forecasting that average annual growth in the domestic market will rise to three per cent in the fiscal years from 2016 to 2020. Qantas shares rose by $A0.21 to $A3.76 on 17 November 2015.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA AG, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES COMPANY, ALASKA AIRLINES, RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC, WESTJET AIRLINES, ETIHAD AIRWAYS

Airlines reject credit card surcharge gouge claims

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Nov-15

Qantas and its Jetstar subsidiary impose a surcharge of between $A7 and $A30 on flights booked via a credit or debit card. However, Qantas’s Andrew Parker estimates that the carrier recovered only about 81 per cent of the full cost of such transactions in 2014-15. Virgin Australia has indicated that its surcharges also do not allow it recover the full cost of credit/debit card transactions. Queensland businessman Klaus Bartosch has rejected the airlines’ claims and has argued that the surcharges are too high.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fix the ‘pain points’ for travellers, Joyce urges the government

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 15-Oct-15

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has called on the Australian Government to reduce the cost of multi-year entry visas which are about to be made available to Chinese travellers. The visa will cost $A1,000, while Chinese nationals pay just $A30 for a similar visa to Singapore. Joyce has also proposed reducing queues at customs and immigration at Australian airports.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AIRASIA X SDN BHD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Qantas lifts off year with strong July figures

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 2-Sep-15

Qantas Airways told analysts on 1 September 2015 that debt levels were low enough so there was no need to lower them. Analysts were impressed by the figures provided by the company. Qantas International increased its capacity by 2.7 per cent and yet it managed to increase the proportion of seats filled by two percentage points to 85.4 per cent.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BALANCED EQUITY MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Air New Zealand reveals plans to fight threat from Qantas

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Aug-15

Air New Zealand is stepping up plans to fight back against a rejuvenated Qantas. It will increase domestic capacity in New Zealand, where Jetstar is to introduce regional turboprop flights, and target Australian customers for its services to North and South America. Air New Zealand will boost long-haul capacity by 15 per cent in 2015-16.

CORPORATES
AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELTA AIR LINES

Qantas’ great recovery due to cost falls

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 21-Aug-15

The key to the turnaround in the fortunes of Qantas is due largely to external factors, including lower fuel prices and the removal of the carbon tax, as well as heavy cost-cutting. CEO Alan Joyce’s next challenge is finding operational growth, though the decision to order eight new Boeing Dreamliners was an important symbolic gesture signifying confidence in the future.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, BOEING COMPANY, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Jetstar says south-east Asia routes taking off

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 6-Aug-15

Australians have changed their travel destinations, in response to the fall in the Australian dollar. Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka told the CAPA 2015 Australia-Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney on 5 August 2015 that demand has shifted towards south-east Asia, which is cheaper that the US and Europe. Demand for domestic destinations is still subdued, but Hrdlicka expects an improvement over the next two years.

CORPORATES
JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, CENTRE FOR ASIA PACIFIC AVIATION, CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED