I49 Air and Space Transport

Virgin, Qantas expand regional air fleets as rivals struggle

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 3-Aug-15

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines will increase its capacity following the $A15.1m acquisition of two Fokker 100s. Alliance Aviation Services secured a deal to sell the airplanes in May 2015, but the identity of the buyer had not previously been disclosed. Qantas has also been actively increasingly its fleet of aircraft servicing regional routes, and has advised that the Network Aviation airline in Western Australia will adopt the QantasLink name.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA REGIONAL AIRLINES PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, NETWORK AVIATION PTY LTD, QANTASLINK, ALLIANCE AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AQZ, BHP BILLITON IRON ORE PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ADITYA BIRLA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX ABY, CONSOLIDATED MINERALS LIMITED, REGIONAL EXPRESS AIRLINES, REGIONAL EXPRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REX, SKYWEST AIRLINES LIMITED

Tigerair set to lift global game

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 13-Jul-15

Virgin Australia’s international division posted an operating loss of $A49.5m in the first half of fiscal 2015, with a fall in yields due to rising competition on Asian routes such as Bali, Fiji and Thailand. Virgin plans to deploy its Tigerair Australia budget offshoot on these routes from August 2015. However, passengers are not expected to receive Velocity reward points for Tigerair flights that were previously provided by Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, TIGER AIRWAYS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VELOCITY FREQUENT FLYER PTY LTD, ASPIRE AVIATION PTY LTD, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, FIJI AIRWAYS, AIRASIA X SDN BHD, AIRASIA SDN BHD, GARUDA INDONESIA, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, DELTA AIR LINES

Sydney Airport passenger growth predicted to lag

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 10-Jul-15

Moody’s says Brisbane and Melbourne airports are best placed to benefit from stronger international growth, while the international passenger growth rate at Sydney has fallen behind forecasts. It remains Australia’s main international gateway, but Melbourne and Brisbane are experiencing better growth rates because of new services to those airports. Moody’s says airports with a greater reliance on domestic travellers, such as Perth and Adelaide, face a more challenging outlook in passenger volume trends.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, BRISBANE AIRPORT CORPORATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC AIRPORTS (MELBOURNE) PTY LTD, ADELAIDE AIRPORT LIMITED, WESTRALIA AIRPORTS CORPORATION PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AIR CANADA

Flights threat only leverage with airports, says Qantas

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 8-Jul-15

Airport fees account for around nine per cent of Qantas Airways’ costs. The carrier has expressed disappointment that the Harper review of competition policy has not adequately addressed the issue of airports’ market power with regard to airport charges. Its stance has been supported by rival carrier Virgin Australia. Qantas has argued that airlines have limited bargaining power in pricing negotiations with airports.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, BOARD OF AIRLINE REPRESENTATIVES OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Air NZ seeks to delay Qantas competition

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 6-Jul-15

Qantas and American Airlines plan to increase capacity on the Australia-US route by about nine per cent in late 2015. Qantas will reintroduce flights from Sydney to San Francisco, while American Airlines will offer daily flights on the Sydney-Los Angeles route. They are awaiting interim approval for the increased capacity from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, but Air New Zealand has expressed concern about the proposed alliance in a submission to the competition regulator.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AMERICAN AIRLINES INCORPORATED, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Qantas cash for Jetstar

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 29-Jun-15

The Jetstar Japan joint venture between Qantas and Japan Airlines is believed to have a cash burn rate of about Y700m a month. It is also said to have cash holdings of around Y4bn. Meanwhile, Qantas will invest an additional Y2bn ($A21m) in the budget carrier in 2015, as part of a 2014 deal with its joint venture partner to collectively invest another Y11bn in the business in two instalments. Jetstar Japan posted a loss of Y11.1bn in 2013-14.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JAPAN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, CENTURY TOKYO LEASING CORPORATION, JETSTAR JAPAN, JETSTAR HONG KONG AIRWAYS LIMITED, CISCO SYSTEMS INCORPORATED

Scene could be set for another capacity war

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 23-Jun-15

Qantas and Virgin Australia both increased their capacity on domestic routes in recent years, which kept a lid on airfares. However, new data shows that airfares began rising again in 2014, after the two carriers slowed the rate at which they added new aircraft to their fleets. Little growth is expected in either fleet in 2015, but a report produced by 4th Dimension and the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation notes that it would not take much for them to engage in a renewed "capacity war".

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, 4TH DIMENSION, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CENTRE FOR ASIA PACIFIC AVIATION, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT. BUREAU OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS, ANSETT AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

Take-off in US tourists tipped

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 22-Jun-15

Tourism Australia has secured a new marketing deal with Virgin Australia Holdings, after first joining forces to promote Australia in 2012. The two groups will jointly spend $A50m to promote the nation, with the US to be targeted initially. Meanwhile, Virgin CEO John Borghetti anticipates an upturn in tourists from the US due to the lower value of the Australian dollar. Tourism Australia has also renewed its marketing deal with Etihad.

CORPORATES
TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, DELTA AIR LINES, AMERICAN AIRLINES INCORPORATED

Qantas takes on Air NZ with home turf Jetstar flights

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 19-Jun-15

Qantas aims to lift the market share of its Jetstar subsidiary in New Zealand (NZ) by offering flights to regional cities, where Air NZ is the dominant carrier. Jetstar NZ currently boasts a market share of 20.5 per cent and only provides flights between the nation’s major cities. Cam Wallace of Air NZ is not fazed by the Qantas move, noting that the carrier had been expecting it and is well placed to compete on regional routes.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, CRAIGS INVESTMENT PARTNERS LIMITED, AMERICAN AIRLINES INCORPORATED, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, EMIRATES AIRLINES, CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CORPORATION LIMITED, CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED, JAPAN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED, QANTASLINK, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Low oil price helps airlines to forecast bumper $US29.3b profits

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 10-Jun-15

The International Air Transport Association forecasts that the global airline industry’s combined profit for 2015 will total $US29.3bn ($A38.4bn). This compares with a previous forecast of a $US25bn profit for the sector. Airlines in North America are expected to book a $US15.7bn profit, while Asia-Pacific airlines’ combined profit is expected to be $US5.1bn. Airlines have benefited from factors such as lower oil prices and bond yields.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH