New Zealand

Sydney Airport divides terminals along alliance lines but risks alienating new carriers

Sydney Airport will narrow its competitive disadvantage of having separate domestic and international terminals with a plan to split its terminals by 2019 into two alliance-based precincts: one for Qantas and its partners and one for Virgin Australia and its partners. The two groupings will account for 81% of all movements. Leftover international carriers will in most cases use the Virgin terminal while a plan is underway to address leftover domestic and regional airlines, notably Tiger Airways and Regional Express. While the plan may placate the two big airline groupings in Australia, Sydney airport may face a shortfall of placement options for new carriers looking to offer their passengers onward domestic connections.

Sydney airport expects to formally begin stakeholder consulting with the aim of including the proposal in its 2014 master plan, which will be drafted in late 2013. Qantas and Virgin Australia, Sydney's two largest occupants based on movements and seats, have already given their support with the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding. The proposal will critically increase gates but not change slot restrictions, the airport's curfew or noise regulations.

Increasing tourism, economic growth and oil make Uganda an attractive destination

It has been said that if Uganda’s infrastructure were to be improved, its resources could feed the entire African continent. Instead, the nation is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. However the potential for further development is undeniably present, and this is what has drawn large international airlines to enter the market. British Airways, Emirates, EgyptAir, KLM and South African Airways have been in the market for years, but it is the entry of Middle Eastern carriers such as Gulf Air and Qatar Airways in Oct-2011 through Dec-2011 that is boosting the nation’s aviation standing.

The country’s main international airport in Entebbe expects to break 1.5 million passengers in 2011 due to these services and is undergoing extensive improvement work to attract more carriers. The Ugandan Government approved the right for foreign investors to develop the airport, which will likely see a consortium of Middle Eastern developers take interest. The country’s designated national carrier, Air Uganda, is improving its offering as well, and is on course to launch domestic and more international services under its turnaround business plan.

Europe shut out as Jetstar uses 787s to open Asia and bring economics to existing network

Timing, they say, is everything. Jetstar's announcement that it will deploy the B787 Dreamliner on its Singapore-Auckland route comes as competitor Air New Zealand, the launch customer for the B787-9, is gearing up for a demonstration B787 to arrive in Auckland on 12-Nov-2011 for a high-profile visit. Competition is fair, but Jetstar's announcement could hardly be considered news since it has long been evident the budget off-shoot of Qantas will use the aircraft not to open new routes to Asia as previously planned but replace A330s on the carrier's few long-haul routes, which include Singapore-Auckland.

Alan Joyce wins gamble on Qantas grounding but now awaits market’s lasting return

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has succeeded in his gambit of grounding the airline on 29-Oct-2011 to force concessions from the three unions it is in dispute with and for the unions to end their damaging industrial action, giving passengers the certainty they can book with Qantas without potential disruptions. But now Mr Joyce awaits the market’s return, hopefully permanently, to flying Qantas, affirming Mr Joyce’s objective to have a short-term shock to create long-term calm.

Qantas must also now carefully calculate the maximum concessions it can extract from the three unions, and the unions from Qantas. If they ask for too much and are re-buffed with no conclusive negotiation by 21-Nov-2011, Qantas and the unions face the uncertain agreement that will be handed down to them from a government tribunal.

Virgin Australia responds to Qantas grounding; looking to bring in foreign aircraft domestically

Virgin Australia has quickly responded to the grounding of Qantas' mainline domestic and long-haul flights that went into affect at 5pm on 29-Oct-2011 in a bold move to make three of Qantas' unions settle ongoing wage and job security disputes.

In a nearly globally unprecedented occurrence, Virgin Australia is liaising with the Australian government to allow its alliance partners – Air New Zealand, Delta, Etihad and Singapore Airlines – to operate their foreign-registered aircraft domestically in Australia to help clear the impending backlog of Qantas customers. Qantas says it carrier 68,000 domestic and international passengers a day.

Qantas throws gauntlet to unions by grounding fleet and locking out union employees

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has thrown down the gauntlet on union strikes by grounding 108 domestic and long-haul aircraft effective at 5pm on 29-Oct-2011.

"I'm taking an unbelievable decision to ground this airline," Mr Joyce said in Sydney. He says Qantas is forced to ground its fleet after locking out employees members of the ALAEA, TWU, and AIPA unions from 8pm 31-Oct-2011. These unions fly and maintain Qantas aircraft. "This is a very tense environment. Individual reactions to this lock-put may be unpredictable," Mr Joyce said at a press briefing in Sydney. Mr Joyce said the grounding, an extreme scare tactic, would go on for as long as it takes for unions come to terms – but expectations are the unions will quickly settle.

"This course of action has been forced upon us by the extreme and damaging course chosen by the leaders of the three unions. It is now over to them. The ball is in their court. They must decide just how badly they want to hurt Qantas," Mr Joyce said.

The remarkable step is almost unprecedented in Australian aviation history - the previous wholescale dispute, when Australia's pilots withdrew their services, occurred some 22 years ago, resulting in the closure of all large scale commercial operations for an extended period. At that time, military transport aircraft and foreign airlines were used to maintain a skeletal system in a dispute that lasted for weeks and resulted in almost a halving of the number of pilots eventually re-hired by the airlines.