QF to significantly increase capacity - are we in for a flood of cheap seats?

[markis10]

There is significant speculation that QF are going to add a lot of capacity to match DJ and others in the second half of the year:

Virgin has targeted growth among corporate customers, while Tiger is also adding to its operations, resulting in an expectation that overall domestic capacity could increase by 21 per cent by September compared with a year earlier, the

AFR said.Qantas is reportedly preparing to add significant capacity beginning in July, possibly adding as much as 13 per cent in capacity to match Virgin's plans to boost its capacity by an estimated 17 to 18 per cent, according to the AFR.

I wonder what effect that will have on air fares in Q3/4 and who will be the loser?

http://www.businessspectator.com.au...airlin-pd20120423-TMR3V?OpenDocument&src=hp15​

 

[samh004]

Well I figure all the QFLink sales relate to the 717’s adding capacity, but how are they going to add it through the rest of their network?

 

[oz_mark]

Well I figure all the QFLink sales relate to the 717’s adding capacity, but how are they going to add it through the rest of their network?

Maybe with orange star bearing aircraft!

 

[markis10]

Well I figure all the QFLink sales relate to the 717’s adding capacity, but how are they going to add it through the rest of their network?

Qantas are also getting fokkers as well as cutting OS routes, delaying retirements would also help, they may also put an A380 on a domestic leg, stranger things have happened.

 

[juddles]

Extra capacity = cheap seats = less profitability = less chance Qantas can offer everything everyone wants. They can´t win, neither can we

 

[SeatBackForward]

Extra capacity = cheap seats = less profitability = less chance Qantas can offer everything everyone wants. They can´t win, neither can we

= more reason for expanding Jetstar!

 

[Justchecking]

As I've posted in another thread, a price war is not 'happy days' for us all. It will inevitably end in tears for one of our carriers leaving all of us with less choice and less competition. QF using an A380 domestically? Where exactly requires that many seats? The Australian aviation scene is just not big enough to warrant large aircraft flying short haul routes. What matters in this country is frequency, not seats. We are a sparse populace in a very big land mass. Most routes are flat out filling 100 seats at a time. The notion of a 500 seat aircraft flying a domestic route is laughable, it will most certainly be the most expensive publicity stunt of all time. (Aside from that grounding incident last year.) Aviation here walks a very fine line, more seats doesn't stimulate demand, there's only so many of us who need to go from A to B. It just means someone will end up with empty pockets and a lot of people will find themselves out of a job.

That of course is the objective of a price war, to permanently put to rest at least one competitor.

 

[oz_mark]

= more reason for expanding Jetstar!

Indeed. When Qantas talk about defending a 65% market share, they are talking about their group market share.

 

[SeatBackForward]

As I've posted in another thread, a price war is not 'happy days' for us all. It will inevitably end in tears for one of our carriers leaving all of us with less choice and less competition. QF using an A380 domestically? Where exactly requires that many seats? The Australian aviation scene is just not big enough to warrant large aircraft flying short haul routes. What matters in this country is frequency, not seats. We are a sparse populace in a very big land mass. Most routes are flat out filling 100 seats at a time. The notion of a 500 seat aircraft flying a domestic route is laughable, it will most certainly be the most expensive publicity stunt of all time. (Aside from that grounding incident last year.) Aviation here walks a very fine line, more seats doesn't stimulate demand, there's only so many of us who need to go from A to B. It just means someone will end up with empty pockets and a lot of people will find themselves out of a job.

That of course is the objective of a price war, to permanently put to rest at least one competitor.

SYD-MEL, is one of the highest travelled city-pairs in the world. Japan uses 747s domestically.

 

[samh004]

QF using an A380 domestically? Where exactly requires that many seats?

I could see it perhaps on SYD-PER with feeder flights to SYD, but it does seem a little too much. Perhaps they could even use the A380 TT and free up some 738’s for domestic routes.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I could see it perhaps on SYD-PER with feeder flights to SYD, but it does seem a little too much. Perhaps they could even use the A380 TT and free up some 738’s for domestic routes.

The issue we'd have in Australia of using the A380 is turnaround times. By the time all the suits swan about stowing their compendiums in the overheads and do their zoolander-ish twirl "taking off my suit jacket"...

 

[Justchecking]

Syd-Mel is also a route that relies heavily on frequency, show me a single time slot Syd-Mel that would fill 500 seats for one carrier. If there was one surely that one carrier would be pushing back two 767's/A330's in that time slot right now. Japan couldn't be more different from Australia in terms of demographics and land mass. There are many places in the world that use something different for that purpose but is it relevant to our local market conditions?

DJ will soon run an A330 syd-mel, lets see if it manages to fill the seats.

 

[lovestotravel]

Qantas will not put an A380 on domestic

 

[SeatBackForward]

Qantas will not put an A380 on domestic

I doubt they will too.

 

[docjames]

The A380 config alone is why it'll never be used on routinely scheduled on short haul (lie flat sleep J seats at 80in pitch when you can get away with 38" 2-3-2 on A330s.... (ok, they're now 2-2-2). Even BNE-PER or SYD-PER (longest feasible domestic flights I can think of) there's not the volume nor the ability to charge a premium in the current config. So you'd need a dense config which further ups capacity (which isnt required anyway).

330/787 seems to be the golden triangle sweet spot for higher demand times.

 

[lovestotravel]

They barely have enough A380's to cover the INT routes they need them for, plus the 744 retirements mean they are stretched even further.

As for Virgin increasing capacity, well I haven't read anything that states that, but their flights are very full in Economy! People are leaving Qantas for Virgin and Qantas simply adding capacity will not bring them back to Qantas.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Imagine how packed a Domestic QC would get with a A380 on a DOM sector. Standing room only???

 

[SeatBackForward]

Imagine how packed a Domestic QC would get with a A380 on a DOM sector. Standing room only???

Just let them straight onto the plane itself!

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Just let them straight onto the plane itself!

LOL!
I've seen BNE and PER QC's really fill up at times...

 

[lovestotravel]

Imagine how packed a Domestic QC would get with a A380 on a DOM sector. Standing room only???

It's not going to happen