AIRLINES – AUSTRALIA

Tourism braces for Virgin blow

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Original article by Lisa Allen
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 16-Apr-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has reiterated that Virgin Australia Holdings’ shareholders rather than taxpayers should bail out the struggling airline. However, tourism and travel industry executives have warned against the prospect of Qantas having a monopoly on domestic routes if Virgin collapses. Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner says a two-airline system is essential for the nation, while Webjet MD John Guscic says the demise of Virgin would make it harder for the tourism industry to recover. Meanwhile, new figures show that international tourism arrivals fell by 26 per cent in February.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, WEBJET LIMITED – ASX WEB

Virgin ups ante with threat of administration

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Original article by Lucas Baird, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 15-Apr-20

Shares in Virgin Australia Holdings were placed in a trading halt on 14 April as the embattled carrier continues to seek financial assistance. The federal government is resisting Virgin’s push for taxpayers’ support, prompting Virgin to warn that it may appoint voluntary administrators within a month if it does not receive a bailout. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has emphasised that any government assistance for the aviation sector must be industry-wide. Labor leader Anthony Albanese contends that the government could take an equity stake in Virgin and sell it in the future.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Virgin CEO in Canberra bailout pitch

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Original article by Robyn Ironside, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Apr-20

The federal government is believed to be considering additional financial support for the nation’s airlines, to ensure that passenger and freight services continue on essential domestic routes. Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah has been lobbying government ministers and Labor frontbenchers to secure support for a proposed $1.4bn loan facility for the struggling carrier. Virgin could opt for a creditor’s scheme of arrangement if government support is not forthcoming; this could result in a debt-for-equity swap, which would have to be approved by shareholders and a court. Labor has backed calls for the government to provide more financial support for Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Qantas monopoly risk if Virgin is allowed to fail, warns boss

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Original article by Lucas Baird, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 3-Apr-20

Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah has dismissed suggestions that the struggling airline is seeking a federal government bailout. He argues that the $1.4bn loan facility that Virgin is seeking would have to be repaid eventually. Scurrah also warns that Qantas could emerge with a long-term monopoly in the domestic market if Virgin collapses. The government would allow a new entrant to the market, but CAPA Centre for Aviation chairman Peter Harbison says regulatory approvals would take some time, which would further entrench Qantas’s market dominance.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CAPA – CENTRE FOR AVIATION

Isolate rule to kill airlines: Flight Centre

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Mar-20

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner does not expect that self-quarantining people who arrive in Australia will be effective in stopping the coronavirus from spreading, while he warns that it will have a major impact on airlines and the domestic economy. Meanwhile, Qantas and Jetstar will offer travel credit vouchers to customers who want to cancel domestic and international flights that have been booked up to the end of May. Virgin Australia has advised that it is still considering its response to the new travel restrictions.

CORPORATES
FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards 2019: Automotive and Airline Winners

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-20

The annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards were presented in Melbourne on 18 February. The automotive and airline categories included wins by first-time and past winners, as well as Qantas securing both domestic airline awards. Past award winner Lexus once again secured the Car Manufacturer of the Year award, taking its total to five award wins in the category. Mazda won its first Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Award in the new category of Major Car Manufacturer of the Year. Meanwhile, the three airline awards were presented to two winners. Qantas won both the Domestic Airline and Domestic Business Travel Airline categories in convincing fashion while Singapore Airlines put together another strong 12 months, winning the International Airline of the Year category for a sixth time.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LEXUS AUSTRALIA, MAZDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED

Qantas fends off unfair pay claims from aircraft engineers’ union

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Feb-20

Qantas has won a lengthy legal dispute with the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association regarding how much it pays its engineers when they have additional training and qualifications. The Federal Court ruled it was Qantas to decide when and how it recognised extra certificates secured by its engineers, and it was not obliged to pay them more in such circumstances unless it met criteria under the relevant industrial agreement. It is the second time in two years that the Federal Court has dismissed a challenge by the ALAEA against Qantas on the issue of pay for extra training and qualifications.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN LICENSED AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Qantas remains number one in airline satisfaction for both domestic and domestic business travel

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jan-20

New Roy Morgan airline satisfaction data shows that national flag-carrier Qantas is the winner of both the Domestic Airline and Domestic Business Airline of the Month Award for November 2019. Qantas has won eight straight monthly awards in the domestic category, and remains unbeaten in the domestic business category for 2019. In the Domestic Airline category, Qantas’s leading customer satisfaction rating of 84% was followed by Virgin Australia (80%), QantasLink (76%), REX (69%), Jetstar (57%) and Tigerair (49%). In the Domestic Business Airline category, Qantas again claimed the highest rating of 83%, followed by Virgin Australia (72%) and Jetstar (56%). These findings have been obtained from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QANTASLINK, REGIONAL EXPRESS AIRLINES, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, TIGER AIRWAYS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Singapore Airlines rises into first position for customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jan-20

Singapore Airlines is the winner of Roy Morgan’s International Airline of the Month Award for November 2019, with a customer satisfaction rating of 87%. It was followed by Emirates (85%), Qatar Airways (85%) and Air New Zealand (84%). Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the top three performers in the latest ratings have been the clear customer satisfaction standouts throughout the year, with Singapore Airlines and Emirates having challenged each other month by month for top position. The customer satisfaction ratings are drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 1,000 Australians each week in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, EMIRATES AIRLINES, QATAR AIRWAYS

Scale of Qantas turnaround catches Joyce by surprise

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Original article by Steve Creedy
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Dec-14

Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas Airways, admits that he and his management team had not expected their cost-cutting strategy to bear fruit so rapidly. He has been able to forecast a 2014-15 interim underlying profit pre-tax of up to $A350m, after the previous loss. The carrier’s stock on 9 December closed $A0.01 lower at $A2.38, but had gained nearly 14% the day before when the news was released. Meanwhile independent senator Nick Xenophon wants the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to look into whether Qantas’s refusal to lower its fuel surcharge despite a falling crude oil price constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BOEING COMPANY, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AIRBUS SAS, NICK XENOPHON GROUP