[JohnHarper]

We will take CX from Vancouver to New York and then AA back to LHR!

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[rferguson]

The new schedules for the struggling MEL-DXB-LHR flight are confirmed.

QF9 MEL-LHR will depart MEL at 22:55 and arrive @ LHR 13:40.
QF10 LHR-MEL will depart 13:30 (obviously using the aircraft from the earlier arriving SYD flight) to arrive back in MEL @ 20:55.

So both aircraft will sit on the ground for 7-8 hours instead of the current 16-ish hours. This (as well as a re-shuffle of A380 services LHR-HKG-LHR) will allow QF to launch A380 service SYD-DFW-SYD which it also confirmed today.

[JohnHarper]

Well I guess it starts to make sense but I still think they have missed an opportunity not to have say an 09.30 departure from LHR arriving in SYD late afternoon the next day. They would then only have about three hours down time on the A380 which would be a huge saving and I would certainly use it.

The day time SQ departures are hugely popular at the moment and it’s difficult to get a (premium) seat at short notice.

[AnthonyDunn]

The issue might be called “slot availability” at LHR…

[rferguson]

I agree John – a 9:30am departure would even still allow for quite a lot of onward connections at the SYD/MEL end. Maybe it’s got something to do with the rotating of the aircraft. Must be some logical explanation. AnthonyDunn’s could be a good one!

I was going to say that a 09:30 departure might be a bit early for inbound transit traffic to LHR. But I guess there are few transit passengers anyway these days with most passengers instead flying Emirates direct to Dubai from other european cities.

[JohnHarper]

I think there’s enough horse trading goes on over slots at LHR that if QF wanted a change they could probably get one without much trouble. Remember BA are using QF slots released when the LHR-HKG service was terminated and I’m sure if QF wanted an 09.30 departure BA would accomodate it particularly if QF was going to lease the slot elsewhere if they didn’t.

I know it’s a bit of a hobby horse of mine but an early in the day departure to SYD with a transit in the gulf picking up connecting passengers who otherwise will continue with EK then arriving in SYD in the afternoon of the following day makes so much sense. From a work point of view there’s time to fit in a meeting if needed or do preparation with both feet on the ground. There are opportunities for connections to all over Australia if you need them and you get a proper night’s sleep that night combating jet lag all the sooner.

Come on QF, at least try it for a season!

[CXDiamond]

I don’t often travel LHR-SYD as nowadays I’m usually in SIN to begin with but I too can see the attraction of an early morning departure although the arrival of QF1 which is currently timed at 08.20 would need to revert to something around 06.20 that it used to be then the return could be underway within two hours, the transit in DXB would be late afternoon which is more acceptable than the current situation and then on to SYD arriving in the afternoon of the following day only missing one nights sleep.

[paulkaz]

The problem with a late afternoon syd arrival is that the plane ll be stuck here in syd for 20 hours. QF dont have an evening or late night departure nor an early morning one using the big bird.
In contrast EK have both dove tailing the curfew including a 6am flight allowing late same day europe arrivals.
QF could use the plane on a later QF 1 that would reduce DXB connection times but that would mean a later mid morning LHR arrival. QF seem wedded to an early LHR arrival even though most connections now occur in DXB

[transtraxman]

It is interesting to see the statement made by Emirates about investment in other airlines as reported in BT today.
“Emirates rules out stake in Qantas”

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/100691/emirates-rules-out-qantas-stake

There are two considerations to be made….
1) Have the three principal Gulf airlines made the right choices?
Emirates…………to go it alone
Qatar……………….to use oneworld to offer better and more numerous connections
Etihad……………..to make investments in other airlines to feed its hubs (the Equity Alliance).
2) What is going to happen to the other three Gulf airlines? Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air and Oman Air.
Do they have futures? will they be propped up come what may? Can they find a niche in which to operate? Will they ally themselves with one or another of the other three Gulf airlines?

All these points are a question of speculation at the moment but are worth watching.

On another point…………..
In the article it is said about the collaboration between Qantas and Emirates…….
“which has seen the two collaborate on flights between Australia and Europe, especially the lucrative the Kangaroo route.”
I am surprised by the use of the word “lucrative”.
The gist of most threads dealing with the Australia -Europe route over the last couple of years has been that Qantas wants out, Virgin Atlantic is hanging in there on its fingernails and BA is making a last ditch attempt to make the route profitable while all the other European airlines gave up long ago.

The questions then are:
Is the route profitable?
Is the same number of passengers being squeezed on to fewer flights?
Is the yield increasing?
Which spokesperson used the word “lucrative”or is the use of the word fortuitous?

Aclaration is needed here as misuse of language can lead to misunderstandings. Perhaps one of the airline insiders might help here.

The last point concerns Qantas itself. Now that the Australian government has relaxed the rules regarding foreign investment in its flag carrier (what are the terms?), then what does the future hold for Qantas?

[SimonS1]

There was an interesting article on Kuwait Airways in one of the Gulf business mags recently. I was astonished that they haven’t had a new plane in at least 15 years and their market share on some Gulf routes is in single figures.

Added to which EK has just started flying A380 on the short hop to Kuwait City.

The new CEO (a lady, quite interesting in such a male dominated society) is ready to tackle this but did say that it would be a niche strategy (as opposed to volume) and they would be looking to a high end proposition appealing to Kuwaitis.

[JohnHarper]

I guess EK do not need to invest in QF, they have everything they want from them including a lot of transfer traffic into Europe. What would now be interesting would be EY coming along and taking a significant percentage and re-routing the traffic to suit their investment.

[BrotherJim]

transtraxman, Virgin Atlantic has already stopped flying to Australia, they pulled out around April this year.

As for the terms of the modification of the Qantas sales Act, the only significant changes are maximum of 49% foreign ownership and can be a single entity, previosly it was a maximum of 49% with a single entity limited to owning 25%. Foreign airlines can now own up to 49% either on their own or combine. Previously they were limited to a max of 25% each with a max of 35% combined.

BTW this change was not done by the government, they wanted to go futher. The amendment to the Act was put forward by the oposition in the Senate and supported by the cross benches there (no party has full control of the Senate) and went back to the houseof representatives where the Government is formed for ratification. So really the oppositon changed the rules not the government.

[Edski777]

With the competition getting stronger by the day QF is being squeezed into a niche role. The Gulfies are taking over the European routes with new, modern, aircraft and very competitive ticket prices and a transfer midway. They are offering the shortest flying times and an incredible amount of destination in both Australia and Europe. All European carriers have given up, they can’t compete.
The Asian market is dominated by Asian carriers that offer competitive prices and top quality service. In addition to that low cost carriers such as Air Asia are buying mid- and long range aircraft to intensify the competition even further. Once these are delivered the market will be flooded with seat capacity against cutthroat prices.
I can’t see that much passenger growth on routes to/from Australia. This means in the end that some operators will fold. My guess is that one of them will be QF. Their operating costs are too high and they have very little alternative routes to shift their capacity to.

Despite the efforts of the Australian government. Too little, too late, in my opinion. I wouldn’t invest in QF at this point. The same is true for EK. They are gaining marketshare right now and if QF fails it will all come their way.

Cynical? Maybe, but apparently such is the way the world economy operates nowadays.

[transtraxman]

More detailed analysis from CAPA (22-7-14)
“Taking the Sale Act out of Qantas – a one-off opportunity missed as amendment fizzles out.”

http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/taking-the-sale-act-out-of-qantas—a-one-off-opportunity-missed-as-amendment-fizzles-out-178745

Basically the conclusion is if it is too little,too late.

Thanks BrotherJim for correcting me for a fact I had not checked. I now see that the Virgin Atlantic LHR flights to SYD are through Singapore where the connecting airline offered is Virgin Australia

[Ekond222]

…The Future of Qantas….if Easyjet buy into QF…..then the future is Orange….

[Author]

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