chunky
30-04-2010, 11:57 PM
For those interested.
BRISBANE Airport is hoping Japan Airlines may return once it has completed its restructuring after it announced this week that it was suspending services to Queensland after 24 years.
The troubled Japanese carrier announced on Wednesday that it would stop flying from Brisbane from September and close its office there, leaving Sydney as its only Australian destination.
The move was part of a wider restructuring in which flights to 15 destinations were suspended, including New York, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome and Beijing, and 30 domestic flights slashed this fiscal year.
The airline's restructuring could take up to three years and will include JAL retrenching up to a third of its 50,000-strong workforce as it cuts its bloated network and divests unprofitable routes.
It will retire Boeing 747s and Airbus A300 aircraft by March 31 as it continues to bleed money for the fourth successive year after losing Y=46.8 billion in the three months to December 31.
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Codeshare partner Qantas has indicated it is reviewing its options in terms of the withdrawal but the carrier with the biggest market share on the Australia-Japan route, Jetstar, announced it had no immediate plans to ramp up frequency.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the airline, which also codeshares with JAL on many of its 25 return weekly two-class flights between Australia and Japan, was promoting its Narita-Cairns-Brisbane service and had been aware of JAL's problems.
He said Jetstar would look at how best it could convert demand from Japan for flying into Brisbane on its existing international and domestic network.
"There will, however, be no existing change to our overall frequency or route structure to this time between Australia-Japan," he said.
"In this market, a recovery since the adverse conditions of H1N1 influenza remains a slow but steady process.
"But Jetstar has invested in the market's future and anticipated growth, with our high-profile brand campaigns and hard promotion of low-fare travel between both countries continuing unabated in the market in Japan."
According to Brisbane Airport Corporation, the decision is disappointing but not entirely unexpected after JAL's January bankruptcy filing.
BAC, which had twice met airline officials to discuss the situation, had worked with Tourism Queensland and Tourism Australia for more than a year on marketing campaigns aimed at rescuing the service.
Passenger loads had averaged 80 per cent since JAL switched from an older Boeing 747 to a near-new 767.
According to JAL, its decision to quit Brisbane was due to a requirement by administrators that the airline sells its fleet of 14 Boeing 747 aircraft and retire its ageing Airbus A300s.
"This meant Brisbane's B767 will be allocated to another route in the JAL network," BAC said.
Airport officials say JAL had told them that it would seek to re-instate the Brisbane-Narita service when it had finished restructuring and had returned to profitability, possibly using Boeing 787s scheduled for delivery from next year.
"Brisbane Airport is aware of the importance of the Japanese market to Queensland's tourism operators and is working with
the industry to develop alternative options for Japanese visitors to be able to access Queensland's fantastic destinations," BAC said.
A spokesman said he could not say what alternatives were being investigated "due to commercial issues".
"Despite JAL's pain, it has been a strong route for them so we are confident that the right airline will do well on it," he said.
BRISBANE Airport is hoping Japan Airlines may return once it has completed its restructuring after it announced this week that it was suspending services to Queensland after 24 years.
The troubled Japanese carrier announced on Wednesday that it would stop flying from Brisbane from September and close its office there, leaving Sydney as its only Australian destination.
The move was part of a wider restructuring in which flights to 15 destinations were suspended, including New York, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome and Beijing, and 30 domestic flights slashed this fiscal year.
The airline's restructuring could take up to three years and will include JAL retrenching up to a third of its 50,000-strong workforce as it cuts its bloated network and divests unprofitable routes.
It will retire Boeing 747s and Airbus A300 aircraft by March 31 as it continues to bleed money for the fourth successive year after losing Y=46.8 billion in the three months to December 31.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/return-hoped-for-by-brisbane-airport-as-jal-cuts-back/story-e6frg95x-1225860342747#sidebar-end)
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/aviation/return-hoped-for-by-brisbane-airport-as-jal-cuts-back/story-e6frg95x-1225860342747#sidebar-start)
Codeshare partner Qantas has indicated it is reviewing its options in terms of the withdrawal but the carrier with the biggest market share on the Australia-Japan route, Jetstar, announced it had no immediate plans to ramp up frequency.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the airline, which also codeshares with JAL on many of its 25 return weekly two-class flights between Australia and Japan, was promoting its Narita-Cairns-Brisbane service and had been aware of JAL's problems.
He said Jetstar would look at how best it could convert demand from Japan for flying into Brisbane on its existing international and domestic network.
"There will, however, be no existing change to our overall frequency or route structure to this time between Australia-Japan," he said.
"In this market, a recovery since the adverse conditions of H1N1 influenza remains a slow but steady process.
"But Jetstar has invested in the market's future and anticipated growth, with our high-profile brand campaigns and hard promotion of low-fare travel between both countries continuing unabated in the market in Japan."
According to Brisbane Airport Corporation, the decision is disappointing but not entirely unexpected after JAL's January bankruptcy filing.
BAC, which had twice met airline officials to discuss the situation, had worked with Tourism Queensland and Tourism Australia for more than a year on marketing campaigns aimed at rescuing the service.
Passenger loads had averaged 80 per cent since JAL switched from an older Boeing 747 to a near-new 767.
According to JAL, its decision to quit Brisbane was due to a requirement by administrators that the airline sells its fleet of 14 Boeing 747 aircraft and retire its ageing Airbus A300s.
"This meant Brisbane's B767 will be allocated to another route in the JAL network," BAC said.
Airport officials say JAL had told them that it would seek to re-instate the Brisbane-Narita service when it had finished restructuring and had returned to profitability, possibly using Boeing 787s scheduled for delivery from next year.
"Brisbane Airport is aware of the importance of the Japanese market to Queensland's tourism operators and is working with
the industry to develop alternative options for Japanese visitors to be able to access Queensland's fantastic destinations," BAC said.
A spokesman said he could not say what alternatives were being investigated "due to commercial issues".
"Despite JAL's pain, it has been a strong route for them so we are confident that the right airline will do well on it," he said.