News & Discussion: Adelaide Airport & Airlines

[Al]

It's about size not quality.

[ReallyBad]

Now that Labor is back in - they should really push for the Emirites plan of flying A380's to Australia and make their Aussie base Adelaide.

[crawf]

Don't think thats going to happen, isnt their base in Melbourne

anyway I just want too see more international carriers to Adelaide (including Emerites)

[Al]

Couldn't resist.

[Maximus_Marc]

they don't fly into the airport anymore do they?

that pic you got Al is a one off. largest planes you see at the airport now are boeing 777's

[Edgar]

so they stopped again?

[rogue]

Today at Adelaide Airport.

Malaysian Airlines B777 at the gate. Not much else going on, but that is normal for this time of day.



I returned from the UK after 2 years in April and came back via KL on MAS and was amazed to be on a B747 then.

The flight wasn't full and after speaking with the crew, they said that the increase in capacity was for the return journey.

AAL are in negotiations with Emirates, but it’s a bit difficult for them because Emirates aren't Asian based so no hub available.

I would have thought today's aircraft would be capable of flying direct from Adelaide to Dubai.

Imagine that...... Adelaide direct to Dubai then onto any European, African or Middle Eastern destination. Only 1 stop!

[Al]

I haven't seen any MA 747s for a while now but I did see a QANTAS 747 not too long ago. I reckon that was a one off though. Don't know why the 747s have stopped unless it was simply low season. They might bring back the 747s closer to Christmas.

[Maximus_Marc]

Here's a replie from Andrew Abbott (Customer Service Duty Manager) after I sent him an email a while back regarding planes at the airport. I asked him why 747's didn't service the airport, although there's pictures of them at the airport on the website.

(I got this message back in middle August)

Hi Marc,

Thank you for your email - and apologies for the delay in replying to
you.

Malaysia Airlines recently operated 747 aircraft from Adelaide 4 times
each week, however, they now use 777 aircraft which are considerably
more fuel efficient.

Cathay Pacific some time ago used 747s here also, but they now use A330
(Airbus) aircraft.

Singapore Airlines operate daily flights to/from Adelaide using 777
aircraft.

Qantas flights to/from Singapore and Garuda to/from Bali use A330.
Qantas flights to/from Auckland use 737 aircraft.

Air New Zealand to/from Auckland use A320s.

Singapore Airlines Cargo usually operate 2 flights (Tuesdays and
Fridays) to/from Singapore - these are operated by 747 aircraft - (their
schedule does regularly change).

We are glad to see you checking the WebCam - we are getting positive
feedback regarding this from around the world.

Thanks again Marc & Regards,

Andrew Abbott
Customer Service Duty Manager

Adelaide Airport Ltd

[rogue]

From The Australian website. Trust the French to stuff things up.....

Superjumbo delay puts Emirates service in doubt
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
October 11, 2006

THE woes at European manufacturer Airbus may have delayed the establishment of a new airline service to Adelaide.

Dubai-based Emirates has been reviewing its options to fly beyond the four main gateway cities it currently services - Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane - and had the South Australian capital in its sights.

But Emirates president Tim Clark said today the delay in the delivery of the Airbus A380 superjumbo had made a decision on Adelaide more uncertain.

The two-year delay in the delivery of the A380s means that Emirates will be up to 17 aircraft short of its projections by the time the first big jet arrives.

This will still give it a fleet of 125 aircraft, and it is trying to source more aircraft to fill the gap, but the delay has prompted a review of its expansion plans that include a hard look at marginal routes such as Adelaide.

"If the 380s hadn't done what they've done we could have been fairly close on Adelaide," Mr Clark said after a National Aviation Press Club lunch in Sydney today.

"We're now having to put it into the pot of the routes that have to justify their existence over the next two years on the basis of what produces the best bottom line.

"But Adelaide has always been of interest to us... it's just that we wanted to establish ourselves in the primary gateways and then look at the likes of Adelaide a bit further down the track."

Emirates had also been looking at using the A380 to boost capacity to Sydney.

Asked what Emirates planned to do now, Mr Clark said it may replace existing planes with a bigger Boeing 777-300ER on the route.

"That gives 100 seats extra for flight with all the gizmos and gadgets, with beds in business class and everything else," he said.

The Dubai-based carrier is lobbying the federal Government for a phased increase in its flights to the four restricted airports that will ultimately double its present capacity.

It says $1.1 billion invested in Australia over the past decade demonstrates the airline's long-term commitment, and its submission made the simple point that increased access by Emirates was in the national interest.

It also met six of the seven criteria applicable to international airlines under the federal Government's new aviation policy.

The Emirates boss also revealed the airline would consider a significant boost to its Australian investment if its $70 million six-star conservation resort in NSW's Blue Mountains is successful.

The airline looked at 25 development sites before deciding on the Blue Mountains site in the World Heritage-listed Wolgan Valley.

Mr Clark said this had included possibilities in Western Australia's Margaret River, the Great Ocean Road in Victoria and Queensland.

"It's Hobson's choice really as to which one to go for," he said. "I know a lot of the state governments are interested in us saying that we're going to go there and we're going to go here, but I think in the end we'll be seeing just how successful this one is and then take a view as to which one is going to be best fit for the network.''

[rogue]

Email recieved from Malcolm Andrews, Business Development Manager, Adelaide Airport Limited...

Hello

Phil is presently on leave and in his absence, I can give you some update with regard to Emirates and Adelaide.

As I am sure you understand negotiations between airlines and airports are commercially sensitive so of course I am unable to go into any detail with regard to our dealings with Emirates. I can though advise you that we have been in discussion with them but it appears that any plans for them to operate to Adelaide, are on hold, at least in the short term.

You will have seen reports in The Australian and Financial Review on Thu 11 October from Mr. Tim Clark - President of Emirates and his comments regarding Adelaide and the impact that the delay of the A380 has on their immediate plans. It certainly makes public that they intend at some stage to fly to Adelaide. At this stage it is a little premature to suggest precisely when that will be.

With regard to the routing, there are various options open to them, possbly direct to Dubai using an A340 or B777, alternatively they may opt to fly via an intermediate point, for example Bangkok. As you will be aware they have an extensive network based over Dubai from where you can connect to many points on the compass.

Kind regards

Malcolm Andrews
Manager - Business Development


-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Thursday, 12 October 2006 1:34 PM
To:
Subject: Superjumbo delay puts Emirates service in doubt

FAO: Phil Baker


Hi Phil,

You may remember, I wrote to you about 6 months ago (from a different email address) asking you what AAL was doing to entice Emirates to service Adelaide and also praising AAL on the great new terminal.

I found an article online (see link: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 49,00.html ) stating that Emirates were seriously considering Adelaide as a new route.

Is this true? What a great coup it would be.

If this was to eventuate, would it be possible for services to fly direct from Adelaide to Dubai and then on to other destinations?

Kind regards,

[rhino]

From The Advertiser, 18th October 2006:

LAURA ANDERSON
October 18, 2006 12:15am

ADELAIDE Airport is the best in the nation, say those in the know.

It was named the capital city airport of the year at the Australian Aviation Industry Awards in Cairns last night.
Australian Airports Association chief executive Ken Keech said: "It has been the only piece of major airport infrastructure that has been built and developed in any capital city in the past 10 years. It is a terrific gateway for Adelaide and South Australia.

"It is new, environmentally friendly and . . . they were able to adapt the plans to take advantage of new technology. The fact that it won speaks for itself."

The opening of the $260 million terminal was delayed for almost four months because of a fuel system problem.

Managing director Phil Baker was presented with the award by association chairman John McArdle.

Mildura was best rural airport.

[Will]

Good to see that we have gone from the worst to the best in this field.

[gregrogers257]

Good to see that we have gone from the worst to the best in this field.

It doesn't surprise me that adelaide won this award. It's a fantastic airport........I've travelled a lot over the last few years and its one of the best in the world........

[Howie]

Good to see that adelaidians are no longer ashamed of their airport. That's a good a result as anyone could have hoped for.