Qantas scraps Adelaide to Auckland flights

[littl_flier]

Just noticed this:

Poor customer demand has been cited as the reason behind a Qantas decision to scrap its route between Adelaide and Auckland from July.
The three day a week service was launched more than two years ago, but has failed to meet expectations.
South Australians flying to New Zealand using Qantas will now have to get there via Melbourne.


Qantas scraps Adelaide to Auckland flights. 11/05/2007. ABC News Online

I seem to remember somebody mentioned the other day that the Air NZ flights were going so well they were making these daily? Is QF's "failure to meet expectations" due to QF pricing themselves out of it on what would surely be a leisure market, or more an issue with QF's lack of aircraft and a need to free them up for different routes.

 

[Altair]

Just noticed this:



I seem to remember somebody mentioned the other day that the Air NZ flights were going so well they were making these daily? Is QF's "failure to meet expectations" due to QF pricing themselves out of it on what would surely be a leisure market, or more an issue with QF's lack of aircraft and a need to free them up for different routes.

It is a shame. I do not know what the prices were compared to NZ but I believe the flight is operated by Jetconnect with a 737-300. THis means that QF NZ aircraft so not really an aircraft issue unless QF NZ is going to add another NZ domestic flight.

 

[bigjobs]

watch the AIR NZ fares increase now

 

[Soundguy]

Yeah, well what's to surprise? The unofficial state slogan isn't "SA - the backward state" for nothing. Even TAS gets 3 Qantas ports, SA scores one.

 

[QF WP]

Maybe Kiwi Flyer can shed some light on the two questions (about the low yields on QF and how the AirNZ yields are going)...

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

I don't think I can shed any light. NZ loads have been good, to the extent of using daily 767s for a while.

NZ fares AKL-ADL are significantly higher than to MEL/SYD/BNE. Not sure how QF fares compare.

Wonder what the jetconnect a/c currently used for ADL run will be used for instead?

 

[serfty]

There's an interesting post on this topic by number_6 'over' on FlyerTalk: Qantas To Axe ADL-AKL

To summarise, having AKL as a Hub gives NZ a great advantage over QF when is comes to ADL.

I guess it's a similar situation with PER for NZ, although not as great.

 

[Reggie]

Wonder what the jetconnect a/c currently used for ADL run will be used for instead?

AKL-PER-AKL I hope.

 

[oz_mark]

AKL-PER-AKL I hope.

Would be nice, but somehow, I doubt it.

 

[Reggie]

Would be nice, but somehow, I doubt it.

I'm sick of having to fly via Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane to get to NZ (nice for SC's though) with QF. However the NZ overnight PER-AKL is more painful, have done it twice and try and avoid it now. AKL-PER on NZ isn't too bad other than no status on *A.

Go the QF - NZ alliance

 

[Mal]

AKL-PER-AKL I hope.

I have a suspicion that the current JetConnect planes wouldn't have the range (esp with headwinds) to do the route.

However, couldn't find the 737 base spec's page at Boeing to confirm properly.

 

[Reggie]

I have a suspicion that the current JetConnect planes wouldn't have the range (esp with headwinds) to do the route.

However, couldn't find the 737 base spec's page at Boeing to confirm properly.

Might have to stop in ADL on the way over then, which sort of defeats the purpose. However, selfish me is mainly only interested on PER-AKL, not too worried how they get it AKL-PER

 

[JohnK]

I have a suspicion that the current JetConnect planes wouldn't have the range (esp with headwinds) to do the route.

But they would have been able to operate AKL-ADL-PER. Could have killed 2 birds with one stone. Oh well!

 

[oz_mark]

But they would have been able to operate AKL-ADL-PER. Could have killed 2 birds with one stone. Oh well!

I would be surprised if they had not considered this option, and decided that they would get better returns doing something else with the aircraft.

 

[NM]

AKL-PER-AKL I hope.

Not with a 737-300 they won't. In fact I expect they were weight limited operating AKL-ADL direction much of the time. AKL-AD is similar distance to SYD-PER and back when QF operated 737-300 to PER, even MEL-PER was often a struggle for them. There were regular splash & dash stops in ADL for the SYD-PER ops.

 

[oz_mark]

Air New Zealand to replace lost Qantas flights

Air New Zealand to replace lost Qantas flights - Travel - smh.com.au

Air New Zealand will more than double flights between Adelaide and Auckland next year in response to Qantas withdrawing from the route in late July.

Air New Zealand group general manager Norm Thompson today said the airline would offer flights between the cities six days a week from November this year, then daily from February 2008.

The airline had already announced that services would increase to five-a-week in November, from the current three, but decided to boost capacity after Qantas announced its withdrawal earlier this month

 

[dajop]

Re: Air New Zealand to replace lost Qantas flights

Air New Zealand to replace lost Qantas flights - Travel - smh.com.au

Interesting dynamics that * alliance seems to make ADL work for them. SQ can make with a daily ADL-SIN , and NZ now going for six weekly ADL-AKL. I guess they can tie these in with a huge range of destinations at SIN & AKL, whereas all QF can offer is LHR/FRA (SIN) & LAX/WLG/CHC (AKL),

 

[d15.in.oz]

I figure the Adelaide international market is a spoke, best worked from the end of a super hub – SYD, AKL, SIN… (Limited mid-market point to point carrier opportunities, perhaps Bali?)

Of course domestically, there is an east-west mining $ hub opportunity, which takes the Bight out of flying via Perth!

 

[Soundguy]

Took this flight yeaterday; it was about 35% full from my estimate, so probably not a good money spinner for QF. One of the ancient 737's (which are kinda nice as they have good legroom), didn't know they carried that much fuel but it got there!