Auckland International Airport

New Denver-Tokyo 787 service to help boost United's sagging trans-Pacific performance

United’s plans to launch new flights from its Denver hub to Tokyo Narita Airport in Mar-2013 with its 219-seat Boeing 787 comes at fortuitous timing. While North Asia-North America traffic has been growing, primarily at the behest of Asian carriers, United is the best positioned of US carriers to take part in this growth since it achieves the highest trans-Pacific yields. Combined with anti-trust immunity with Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), which is already showing benefits, and United's market leading position in the US, United will be able to grow the market.

Yet trans-Pacific yields are the lowest international ones for United, as it is with other US carriers. The trans-Pacific market does not have the strong corporate and leisure base of Europe or the VFR traffic of Latin America. With yield growth being more limited, the 787 will help the bottom line with its step change in efficiency, reducing costs. United will certainly not be the last carrier to take advantage of changing competitive dynamics.

Qantas cuts international services to grow profitable domestic market as Jetstar grows all around

Qantas is making significant competitive responses to invigorated challenger Virgin Australia’s push in the lucrative Australian domestic market. Qantas will withdraw international routes and re-allocate aircraft primarily to the domestic market to keep the 65% market share it believes is optimal for overall performance. Additional network changes will right-size its fleet to demand while the company looks to shrink engineering facilities due to aircraft retirements. For its planned Asia-based premium carrier, Qantas will pursue a capital light option in which an airline partner – likely Malaysia Airlines (MAS) – shares part of the risk.

The story is more positive overall at the group’s low-cost subsidiary Jetstar, which posted its largest-ever underlying profit. The carrier is benefitting from increased yields in Australia while its Singapore operation has held up profitably despite its competition, Tiger Airways, not being able to profitably absorb significant capacity increments.

Air New Zealand orders up to 12 ATR72-600s for rapid regional expansion

Air New Zealand's order today for up to 12 ATR72-600 turboprop aircraft will require the airline to more heavily market regional New Zealand in overseas destinations, particularly in Australia.

Over the past eight years ANZ's regional network has grown at an average clip of 5.6% per annum -- even factoring in the global financial crisis. "Clearly this commitment for these additional aircraft is testament to our belief that we will continue to see growth at those levels going forward," ANZ chief executive Rob Fyfe says in Auckland.

Auckland and ACSA earnings: investment pays in one case, causes a headache for airlines in the other

New Zealand’s Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIAL), and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), have released their financial reports for the period 12 months to 30-Jun-2011 and 12 months to end 31-Mar-2011, respectively. AIAL is starting to reap the rewards of its investments in New Zealand’s Queenstown Airport and the two North Queensland airports in Australia, but may face some unexpected competition in its own backyard. ACSA’s report demonstrates it did not receive the benefits that might have been anticipated from last year’s World Cup competition, now raising its charges to airlines as a means of paying for the infrastructure that helped host the event.

Virgin consolidates fragmented fare structure – looking like Air New Zealand

Virgin Australia has announced the introduction of a new fare structure, which the airline claims will deliver “innovative pricing together with greater flexibility, simpler choices and better value”. The revised structure is part of the overhaul of the Virgin brand and a key step in simplifying another fragmented part of the company’s product.