Corporate Travel News

Qantas, via its official Twitter account, announced (21-Sep-2017) the delivery flight for its first Boeing 787-9 will occur in mid-Oct-2017. The aircraft will initially be deployed on domestic services, before operating between Australia and the US from Dec-2017.

Kenya Airways commenced discussions with Kenya's Government, seeking protection from foreign competitors at its Nairobi hub (Reuters/Financial Times, 21-Sep-2017). According to Kenya Airways chairman Michael Joseph, the Government needs to introduce "more aggressive strategies" to avoid "destroying" the airline. Kenya Airways plans to discuss the issue further with Government following the presidential election in Oct-2017.

Australia Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development proposed (20-Sep-2017) to amend the air navigation regulations for Melbourne Essendon Airport to reduce aircraft noise during curfew hours by limiting operations to aircraft with less than 90EPNdb noise level on arrivals, instead of aircraft type. These regulations exempt emergency services. The 90EPNdb noise limit is currently only met by the newer jet models. Proposed amendments include:

• Lifting the permitted weight limit for jet aircraft from 45,000kgs to 55,000kgs for operators during non-curfew hours;
• Removing the ability of non-emergency helicopters and propeller driven aircraft to operate during the curfew;
• Allowing jet aircraft which meet strict noise criteria to land during curfew period.

CEO Chris Cowan commented: "We believe the changes will result in less noise and fewer aircraft movements… We have easily the biggest corporate jet fleet in Australia based here. We have proposed really tight cap on numbers and noise to accommodate the genuine unavoidable late night arrivals from often different time zones. The noise limit encourages a quieter fleet here over time if the operators see benefit in greater flexibility during curfew". The proposal is open for public consultation until 10-Oct-2017. [more - original PR]

Alitalia and Alitalia Cityliner extended (21-Sep-2017) the binding bid period related the the group's insolvency proceedings from 02-Oct-2017 to 16-Oct-2017. 05-Nov-2017 remains unchanged for the "completion of the next procedural phases". [more - original PR - Italian]

La Compagnie ordered (21-Sep-2017) two A321neos from Airbus, due for delivery in 2019. The aircraft will operate in all business configuration, offering WiFi and full flat beds. According to the CAPA Fleet Database, La Compagnie operates two Boeing 757-200 in an all business class configuration. La Compagnie CEO Laurent Magnin said the purchase "is an important step in maintaining our unique position in the market as we continue to invest in our clients and evolve as a brand". [more - original PR]

Gold Coast Airport reported (21-Sep-2017) it 29,000sqm apron expansion project is well underway and due for completion in Mar-2018. The expansion will add parking for four Code C or two Code E aircraft. COO Marion Charlton stated: "The number of passengers flying through Gold Coast Airport is steadily trending upwards, and we are pushing ahead with our expansion programme to meet this demand". The project also "provides a foundation for us to move ahead with the building component of Project LIFT, which will commence" in 2018, added Ms Charlton. As previously reported by CAPA, Project LIFT will develop a new international terminal, additional aircraft parking stands and a consolidated ground transport facility. [more - original PR]

Tourism Research Australia provided (20-Sep-2017) a breakdown of domestic overnight travel for the year to Jun-2017:

• Domestic overnight holiday trips increased 2% year-on-year to 37.7 million;
• Domestic visitor nights rose 1% to 144 million;
• Holiday spending grew 9% to AUD31.5 billion (USD25 billion);
  • Those in aged 45 and above led growth, taking 5% more holiday trips and on average spent more on their holidays than those aged under 45 - AUD938 (USD744) per person compared to AUD758 (USD601) for younger age categories, due to their longer average length of stay (five nights compared to three nights);
• Domestic overnight trips for visiting friends and relatives (VFR) increased 6% to 32.1 million, while spend rose 6% to AUD12.6 billion (USD10 billion);
  • Growth in VFR travel was largely due to an increase in those travelling alone, accounting for 74% of the growth in visitor numbers and 39% of the growth in spend;
• Overnight business trips grew 8% to 19.9 million, spend for this purpose of travel increased only 2% to AUD15.6 billion (USD12.4 billion);
  • Business travellers took more short trips of 1 to 3 nights (up 13% to 14.4 million) and less longer trips of four or more nights (down 4% to 5.5 million). [more - original PR]

Statistics New Zealand reported (21-Sep-2017) international visitor arrivals to New Zealand for Aug-2017. Details include:

• Total international visitor arrivals: 233,991, +5.8% year-on-year;
  • Oceania: 122,400, +4.3%;
    • Australia: 111,312, +4.9%;
  • Asia: 67,920, +15.2%;
    • China: 29,232, +11.9%;
    • Hong Kong: 3904, +37.9%;
    • Japan: 10,240, +9.0%;
    • South Korea: 4688, +7.3%;
    • Malaysia: 4432, +17.9%;
    • Singapore: 3248, +2.0%;
  • Europe: 20,320, +3.1%;
    • UK: 7808, -1.0%;
    • Germany: 3232, -5.2%;
  • Americas: 17,888, -10.1%;
    • USA: 12,736, -14.5%;
    • Canada: 2384, -5.7%;
  • Africa and Middle East: 3328, +1.5%;
    • South Africa: 864, -35.7%;
• Departures: 252,117, +7.2%. [more - original PR]

Queensland State Government launched (21-Sep-2017) a new marketing initiative - the 'Best of Queensland Experiences Program' - to highlight the state's best tourism experiences. The programme was developed by Tourism and Events Queensland in close consultation with Queensland's Regional Tourism Organisations and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council. The aim is to help boost tourism in Queensland by identifying products that consistently deliver a high quality visitor experience, as well as support tourism operators and build their digital capability. [more - original PR]

Delta Air Lines and Aeroflot reportedly resumed codesharing on Aeroflot operated services from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Perm, St Petersburg, Samara, Sochi, Ufa, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg (Routes Online, 20-Sep-2017). As previously reported by CAPA, in Apr-2017 Delta Air Lines requested a renewed authority from the US Department of Transportation to operate scheduled service on a codeshare basis with Aeroflot. Delta requested the renewals for a period of at least two years.