News

Association of South Pacific Airlines (ASPA) appointed Nauru Airlines CEO Geoff Bowmaker as chairman for a one year term, succeeding Air Niugini CEO Simon Foo (PNG Post-Courier, 18-Jul-2017). Mr Bowmaker said: "I am honoured to be elected to lead ASPA for the next 12 months as chairman and I appreciate the good work of Mr Foo who has greatly assisted my transition into the role".

Destination New South Wales (NSW) tourism and event agency appointed (17-Jul-2017) Celine Dong as business development manager for Shanghai, effective immediately. Ms Dong will be responsible for building relationships with airlines, travel trade partners, wholesalers, retailers and online agents, to increase the awareness and sales of NSW tourism destinations and products in Eastern China. NSW welcomed more than 700,000 Chinese visitors in the year ended Mar-2017, contributing AUD3 billion (USD2.34 billion) in tourism spending. [more - original PR]

Qantas Airways commissioned (14-Jul-2017) its first Boeing 737-800 (VH-VXM) with a repainted and updated livery. The updated livery and kangaroo logo was launched in Oct-2016, to coincide with plans to introduce the Boeing 787 into service in late 2017. Qantas expects the updated branding to be completed across the fleet by 2020. [more - original PR]

Tourism Australia reported (17-Jul-2017) visitor arrivals to Australia rose 7% in May-2017. Details include:

• Visitor arrivals: 579,100, +6.8% year-on-year;
  • New Zealand: 104,800, -0.1%;
  • China: 79,300, +11.1%;
  • US: 50,200, +8.4%;
  • Singapore: 38,000, +4.7%;
  • UK: 30,600, +2.7%. [more - original PR]

Alliance Airlines CEO Lee Schofield said the airline's agreements with Virgin Australia meant there were new opportunities to service regional Queensland (Brisbane Times, 17-Jul-2017). Commenting amid the launch of service from Brisbane to Gladstone, Bundaberg and Port Macquarie, Mr Schofield said: "It's the best of both worlds. All Alliance passengers will be able to enjoy Virgin Australia's Velocity points and lounge access, with the added bonus of our jet services to the three ports, which means a faster and smoother ride". Mr Schofield also said the carrier would seek to expand to more regional Queensland destinations in the future.

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) reported (14-Jul-2017) Australian Overseas Arrival Data shows China is set to overtake New Zealand for the first time as Australia’s biggest source of international visitors "within months if current trends continue". TTF also stated that the "incredible" resurgence of travellers from the US to Australia "continues to be this year’s surprise success story". [more - original PR]

Singapore Airlines plans to replace A380 with Boeing 777-300ER equipment on one daily Singapore-Melbourne frequency, effective 01-Oct-2017 to 24-Mar-2018 (Airline Route, 14-Jul-2017). The airline will operate the route three times weekly with A330-300, daily with A350-900 and three times daily with 777-300ER aircraft, effective 29-Oct-2017 to 30-Nov-2017. The carrier also operates A380 equipment on Singapore-Sydney service, according to OAG.

Gold Coast Airport appointed (14-Jul-2017) Ron Brent as chairman of the Community Aviation Consultation Group (CACG), the organisation that facilitates consultation between the airport and community stakeholders. Gold Coast Airport COO Marion Charlton stated: "As the former Aircraft Noise Ombudsman, Mr Brent has worked closely with Gold Coast Airport, and understands the complexities involved in managing airport operations specific to" Gold Coast. [more - original PR]

JBWere released research which shows overseas investment in Air New Zealand has increased 27 percentage points since 2013/14(NZ Herald, 16-Jul-2017). At the time of sale approximately 12% of the carrier was owned by overseas investors, however by Mar-2017 this had risen to 39%. The research also shows that if the Government's 52% stake is not counted then just 9% of Air New Zealand is owned by individual and institutional New Zealand investors.

Air Caledonie signed (14-Jul-2017) an MoU with the technical crew of the UT CFE-CGC union, following a strike which grounded services. All services have since been resumed and schedules are running on time. [more - original PR]