I52 Transport Support Services

Flight Centre buoyed by overseas travel lift

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 7-Sep-15

Flight Centre Travel Group expects to post a 2015-16 pre-tax underlying profit of between $A380 million and $A395m, which would be about eight per cent higher than previously. The group benefited from the 4.4 per cent growth in the number of Australians who travelled overseas for short trips in July 2015. Flight Centre’s Haydn Long notes that some highly competitive airfares for local and international travel are becoming available.

CORPORATES
FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN AMERICAN AIRLINES INCORPORATED AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ

Visa, Tourism Australia in Asian tourist push

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 4-Sep-15

Tourism Australia wants more Asian tourists to venture beyond the east coast. The organisation is working with credit card company Visa on a marketing campaign whose aim is to promote travel to less popular destinations. In Western Australia, only five per cent of international visitors are from China.

CORPORATES
TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VISA INTERNATIONAL, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED, ALIBABA.COM CORPORATION

Workers defy orders to stop protest

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Mark Ludlow, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Aug-15

Hutchison Ports has called the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) to stop an apparently spontaneous action of union members who ignored the order of the Fair Work Commission to cease industrial action. Paddy Crumlin, national secretary of the union, said the MUA was not involved in organising protests at Port Botany in Sydney and outside the company’s terminals in Brisbane on 11 August 2015. The protests were triggered by Hutchison Ports informing 97 employees via text messages and email that they would be made redundant.

CORPORATES
HUTCHISON PORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Flight Centre flies the flag for bricks-and-mortar travel agents

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Aug-15

The latest Roy Morgan Research State of the Nation report indicates that many Australians still show preference for traditional travel agents. In the 12 months to June 2015, 13 million Australians 14 years or older took at least one holiday. Flight Centre was used by 9.4 per cent of this group between July 2014 and June 2015, followed by dedicated online agent Booking.com, used by 5.8 per cent of Australians, and booking websites Wotif.com (5.2 per cent), Webjet.com.au (3.7 per cent) and Expedia.com.au (3.2 per cent). Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research, says that "Flight Centre’s long-standing position as Australia’s leading travel agent remains unchallenged". Australians appreciate specialist knowledge and personal service of bricks-and-mortar agents.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, BOOKING.COM BV, WOTIF.COM HOLDINGS LIMITED, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED, HELLOWORLD LIMITED – ASX HLO, HARVEY WORLD TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED, ESCAPE TRAVEL, STA TRAVEL PTY LTD

Airline rivals team up for walking tour firm

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Original article by Patricia Hatch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Aug-15

Geoff Dixon, the former CEO of Qantas, and Brett Godfrey, the former CEO of Virgin Australia, have launched a new company. The Australian Walking Company will offer coastal walks in Victoria. It will be operated by the Tasmania Walking Company, which has been organising walks for tourists since the early 1990s.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, TASMANIAN WALKING COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN WALKING COMPANY

Hassle-free holidays: Australia’s package tour market

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jul-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 1.6 per cent of Australians aged 14+ went on a package tour for their last holiday. The survey, which was carried out in the year to March 2015, also shows that 36.5 per cent of Australians who opted for a package tour on their last trip were Baby Boomers. Meanwhile, Pre-Boomers accounted for 24.1 per cent of package-tour travellers, followed by Generation X (15.9 per cent) and Generation Y (13.2 per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Weaker dollar – more holidays at home

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 2-Jul-15

Data shows that Australians spent a total of $A55.7bn on domestic overnight trips in the year to March 2015, which is six per cent higher than previously. Meanwhile, there was three per cent growth in the number of Australians who opted for a holiday within Australia in the March 2015 quarter. The National Visitor Survey, which was undertaken by Tourism Research Australia, also found that the number of Australians taking overseas holidays rose by three per cent in the year to March.

CORPORATES
TOURISM RESEARCH AUSTRALIA, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Brookfield pressed on Asciano bid

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Original article by Perry Williams, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 2-Jul-15

Australian-listed transport infrastructure group Asciano has advised that Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management made an indicative takeover offer on 26 June 2015. The $A9bn non-binding bid values the target at $A9.05 per share, but Jakov Males of UBS Global Asset Management believes that an offer of around $A10 per share would be more appropriate. The proposed takeover bid comprises a cash component and shares in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

CORPORATES
ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SABMILLER PLC, FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, MULTIPLEX LIMITED, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GRESHAM PARTNERS LIMITED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED

Alibaba pairs with Tourism Australia to attract travellers

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Jul-15

Tourism Australia has secured a three-year marketing deal with Alitrip, a travel software app that was launched by Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba in 2010. Tourism Australia and Alitrip will jointly promote Australia as a travel destination for independent travellers in China. Australia recorded 18 per cent growth in tourists from China in 2014, to a new high of 840,000.

CORPORATES
TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALITRIP, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES CORPORATION LIMITED, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, JD.COM INCORPORATED, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, WOLF BLASS WINES PTY LTD, IRESEARCH

Sydney Airport pins hopes on Chinese

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-May-15

Trevor Gerber succeeded Max Moore-Wilton as chairman of Sydney Airport on 14 May 2015. Meanwhile, CEO Kerrie Mather has forecast a big rise in Chinese visitors in coming years, citing factors such as increased flights between Australia and China, the free-trade deal between the two nations and the relaxation of visa requirements for Chinese travellers. Sydney Airport also plans to revamp its international terminal’s duty-free facilities.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, GEBR HEINEMANN SE & CO KG, THE NUANCE GROUP (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH