[KSHaggag]

Thanks dsatrio !

I was generally impressed by GA and Indonesia all over upon my last visit three weeks ago !!!..If you are Indonesian ,then all my regards and respect to such a lovely country and warm people !

In short ,GA is not really on the radar of many business travellers coz simply they are non existent almost .There is a lot of potential out there ;I am not sure if London is more important ( yieldwise ) for them than let s say Abu Dhabi or Mumbai or Delhi or others …
GA is still toooooooooooo much regional !..in many travellers eyes !/..Do you think London will be a profitable route ? is it really the right time to stretch your legs to London while you can increase capacity on other higher-yield routes like HKG,PVG,etc ??

[AMcWhirter]

Less than two months to go and still GA’s website (when searching for a flight in April) continues to display the current schedules and timings for flights out of LGW via AMS.

One wonders if passengers booked or, who are still booking, for flights departing after the end of March are aware of the potential changes ?

[Carajillo2Sugar]

No changes showing in the TMC’s booking systems either, even as far ahead as December 2016.

Is the move to Heathrow a done deal?

[AMcWhirter]

Well it was supposed to be. Initial reports stated that the LHR slots were effective from the start of the Summer 2016 schedules. The slots in question were acquired from a unnamed carrier.

[KSHaggag]

This is GA s main weakness : UNCERTAINTY …no clear plans ,no firm announcements ,a lot of guessing and opaque situations …pity !

[GenerationY]

KSHaggag,

Welcome to Indonesia! It’s just the way they do business there.

However, I don’t think GA should add more destinations in Europe or ME. Instead they should first focus on ASEAN, NE Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In a very personal view, if I were to be given GA, I would cooperate closely with SQ for European and North America flights and refocus GA network on regions mentioned above. Furthermore, given the geography of Indonesia, they could create a niche to connect Australia and NZ (big and small cities) to Indonesia and Asia.

Regarding the EU network, the demand for European destinations in Indonesia is still not as developed as SIN or HKG.

I believe, as Indonesia and Singapore are part of ASEAN, cooperating with SQ for EU and US flight will only be good for them. Not only it gives GA exposure to the world market, SQ will be able to bring more passenger to GA metal from SG, while GA can then invest their cash for something else, such as training their management. On the otherhands, SQ can rely on GA to bring their passengers across Indonesia and ANZ (assuming the strategy to serve AU and NZ happens), as well as securing Indonesian market.

Lastly, when GA and SQ cooperate, they will be a strong force in ASEAN, and it will put them in a prime position to take on the like of EK, EY, QR, CX and the new NH Group.

[KSHaggag]

GenerationY ,

Thanks ! I loved your analysis .I just have some comments further :

1-Why is GA keen to serve EU ? this is exactly my point ;is London really an important destination for them ?Given the huge competition in UK market and the large capacity offered there by a multitude of carriers ,this will put pressure on the yields and I don t think GA needs this now .
2-Yes ,indeed SE Asia and NE Asia are regions where GA needs to flourish .China ,Japan ,South Korea .
3-OZ is their best ,juiciest market and where they already enjoy a great reputation ,so yes ,let them expand there .
4-SQ is a fantastic carrier by all standards .It has been a pioneer and will remain so as long as we are alive for years to come ,however SQ does not really need little GA to cooperate with .Why ?…SQ has commitments in STAR Alliance and will be seen as odd to go and close ties with a Skyteam member ( GA ) ;I would rather see GA go and talk to KE Korean Air ( Skyteam fellow member ) and feed their Cross Pacific routes via ICN while KE will feed the GA s OZ and NZ routes .
5-SQ has traditionally been a ((( distant )))) partner ;they stayed in STAR for years without ever cooperating effectively with any STAR member for ages !..it is their culture to do it alone and go their own way .Their philosophy of quality is unique and they have shown the world that they have been offering and can offer JUST THE BEST ..the quality standards they offer are still THE ENVY OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY ..forget the likes of EK,EY,QR and those newcomers ;yes they brought quality to the consumer s table but differently .SQ has style !!!! unrivalled anywhere ..like CX ..they have style ( albeit different from SQ ) …
6-The huge domestic network of GA is and should be the envy of partners like KE among others to cooperate with GA .They have the potential but not yet the know -how that would make them a sophisticated carrier .They are yet to learn .
7-SQ is strengthening its network further in Down Under with the launch of the Canberra Wellington route ;a unique approach to business ..
8-SQ loves to do it alone !
9-SQ recently got closer to LH ,LX to sharpen up their offering to Europe and catch more traffic on the EU-OZ axis but it s LH/LX /OS who took the first step …
10-It took LH ages to convince SQ to join STAR ;it seems they are still working on this to show them the benefits generated from such a move …NEVER TOO LATE !!!

[JohnHarper]

KSHaggag – 06/02/2016 12:02 GMT

Spot on, Mrs JH will often comment when on EK, EY, LH and so on, ‘well it’s not like Singapore Airlines….’.

They remain at the head of the game. I very much like the new EY F on the A380 but it’s not Singapore Airlines!

[KSHaggag]

I have not frankly tried the new EY A380 First Apartment product ;it must be awesome but I am sure SQ has a mysterious style that get us hooked to the airline .
Many respectable carriers e.g. EY,EK,LH have great First Class products but SQ remains a favourite with that special ” Je ne sais quoi ” that they are extending to their guests ..

[paulkaz]

KSHaggag great points. A couple of comments,
1 Ga wants to fly to LHR partly for status ( since excluded from the USA as mentioned above) but also because the Indonesian top0.01% shifted their wealth to the Uk and Europe after Sept 11 01.Ga has always been pressured to serve the needs of these powerful families. This also explains the excellent first class service in the 777s
4 Ke already serves Syd Bne Mel and Alk directly from Icn so theres no need to share those routes with Ga.I suspect an Sq link would be politically and culturally more acceptable. These tensions cant be underestimated in the region.

[GenerationY]

Hi KSHaggag,

Very nice. I do agree with you that SQ is a special carrier. It is too my favorite airline as Singapore is my favorite city in the world. The thing is I also know that SQ, unofficially, is the national carrier of Indonesia for international travels. Most of rich Indonesians depend on SQ for their international market. SQ route such as those of LHR and AMS often consist of Indonesian-Chinese, while the latter are full of Indonesians. Furthermore, Silk Air (SQ’s regional carrier) has been expanding aggressively to smaller city of Indonesia. Just like SQ with their co-branded credit card with BCA (where most, if not all rich Indonesian Chinese do their banking), and multiple advertisement across Indonesia.

I personally think, SQ is getting worry. SQ had enjoyed monopoly in Indonesia, GA’s comeback must have a negative impact on SQ marketshare in the country. I believe the relation between SQ mirrors CX and mainland China.

On the other hand, GA can’t compete With SQ yet, cooperating with SQ means it can taps SQ global network without big investment. Given that ASEAN openskies is knocking, and ASEAN economic community has taken place, a close cooperation may leads into merger, hence my point of view.

I know That SQ is in Star and GA is in Sky, however I don’t think it matter too much for both carriers. Both already cooperating on SIN-DPS route and GA is a close partner of Silk Air as it codeshare on all Silk Air Singapore to Indonesian routes. So a tie up between the two is only logical at this stage.

While for Korean Air, it wouldn’t make a good fit. Not only the flight timing to Europe is longer, but the KE brand is not as strong as SQ and Korea is not in ASEAN which mean Indonesian needs to apply for visa, and it doesn’t understand Indonesian culture as SQ does. Furthermore, it is more realistic for SQ/GA combination to offer a one stop service to Europe/USA and even smaller point in Asia, from all points in Indonesia. KE (or any ME3) will be difficult. 🙂

Safe travel,
Y.

[KSHaggag]

Thank you Paulkaz !

Cheers

[KSHaggag]

Hi GenerationY ,

Thanks for the thorough elaboration thaht I read with great interest .

I agree that SQ has enjoyed for years some sort of a monopoly in the Indonesian market while GA was almost dead !!!.
The revival of GA as a Global Player ( let s admit they are on their way to being global ) will impact to some extent SQ s market share in Indonesia .My point about KE was a fit on the Trans Pacific routes to NA since ICN is a gateway to a higher number of destinations in NA than Changi although ,as you said ,KE has less appeal in the market than SQ in spite of the great image of KE in other parts of the world .
Will you one day fear the fact that a coperation btw SQ and GA may lead to some sort of consolidation and will result into higher fares on the axis SE Asia -Oz /NZ via SIN ,CGK ?

[dsatrio]

SQ and GA have entered into code-share agreements on several routes, similar to what GA has done with a number of other airlines, such as NH (this one provides GA access to US), VN, 9W, EY, KL, KE and many more. I hardly think this is a sign of consolidation or merger at all.
GA maybe putting a dent (a small one maybe) at SQ’s share, but look at SQ’s 8 flights a day between CGK and SIN, all on wide body aircrafts and often times are full. GA has about the same number of flights, yet most of them on 737-8 planes.
Aussie does provide an opportunity, but it’s mostly a leisure market and very price sensitive. LCC dominates these routes.
GA still has a long way to go before truly becoming a global player. I personally think they should stay a regional player and be very good at it. But I heard from an internal source that GA is planning to open several other routes in Europe.

[Bigfoot]

I can’t ever see GA and SQ getting together like it’s been suggested. They are in completely different alliances so can’t see why they’d change.

[Author]

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