Your weekly travel and aviation Quote-a

9 April, 2021

CTC - Corporate Travel Community brings you a roundup of the most thought-provoking and interesting comments from those industry leaders in the know. This week's material is dominated by reactions to the introduction of a reciprocal trans-Tasman bubble allowing movement between Australia and New Zealand.

Air New Zealand sees 'a record sales day on the Tasman'
Air New Zealand announced "it was a record sales day on the Tasman for Air New Zealand" on 06-Apr-2021, with "tens of thousands" of passengers in New Zealand and Australia booking services following the trans-Tasman bubble announcement. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said Auckland-Sydney was the carrier's most popular booked service, and he expects the bookings to be "a mixture of friends and family making up for a year of missed milestones, and business travellers keen to get moving again".

Tourism & Transport Forum CEO: trans Tasman bubble a 'post COVID game changer'
Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) CEO Margy Osmond stated the trans-Tasman bubble official start date of 19-Apr-2021 "is a post COVID game changer". Ms Osmond stated: "New consumer research by tourism consultancy MI Associates for TTF reveals that 40% of Australians still have no confidence to travel interstate in the near future", with 63% of Australians remaining concerned about lockdowns.

Tourism New Zealand: Initial trans Tasman passengers expected to be visiting friends and family
Tourism New Zealand interim CEO René de Monchy said it is expected the initial passengers on the trans-Tasman bubble will be "those wanting to reconnect with friends and family". Mr de Monchy said while Tourism New Zealand's "modelling shows that while visitor numbers aren't anticipated to return to previous levels overnight, we can expect to be back at 80% by Jan-2022", with estimates that quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand could bring NZD1 billion (USD706.3 million) into the economy by the end of 2021.

NZALPA president: 'there is still a long way to go until industry recovery'
New Zealand Air Line Pilots' Association (NZALPA) president Andrew Ridling stated "We are grateful and hopeful" following the announcement of a New Zealand-Australia trans-Tasman bubble, however "there is still a long way to go until industry recovery". Mr Ridling added: "While we appreciate stopping the pandemic was the priority, a forward-thinking economic recovery unit running parallel to those efforts and working with our industry would have helped quicker recovery".

Willie Walsh succeeds Alexandre de Juniac with 'forceful voice supporting the success of global air transport'
IATA announced on 01-Apr-2021 that former IAG boss Willie Walsh had succeeded Alexandre de Juniac as director general. Mr Walsh said: "My goal is to ensure that IATA is a forceful voice supporting the success of global air transport. We will work with supporters and critics alike to deliver on our commitments to an environmentally sustainable airline industry".

Royal Jordanian CEO appointment reflects 'keenness to continue strategy': chair
Royal Jordanian Airlines confirmed the appointment of Samer Majali as vice chairman, president and CEO effective 30-Mar-2021. Royal Jordanian chairman Said Darwazah said the appointment reflects the board's commitment to the company's strategic development plans following the impacts of the coronavirus. As previously reported by CAPA, Mr Majali previously headed the airline between 2001 and 2009 and has also held senior positions with Gulf Air, Oman Air, SaudiGulf Airlines and IATA.

Boeing expects 'India's commercial fleet will grow fourfold by 2039'
Boeing MD of regional marketing David Schulte reported Boeing expects "India's commercial fleet will grow fourfold by 2039", driven by "greater demand for domestic, regional and long haul travel". Boeing forecasts Indian airlines will require 2220 new aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years, valued at approximately USD320 billion. This comprises 260 new widebody aircraft "to meet future demand for long haul connectivity, especially to North America and Europe", and 1960 new narrowbody aircraft.

Singapore Airlines 'remains committed' to travel bubble discussions with Australia
Singapore Airlines spokesman Karl Schubert reported the carrier "remains committed" to working with the governments of Singapore and Australia to safely resume travel between the countries. If the travel bubble goes ahead, it would be the second country to resume travel with Australia following a trans-Tasman bubble confirmed with New Zealand on 06-Apr-2021. Singapore's immigration officials plan to accept the use of the IATA Travel Pass app for travellers from 01-May-2021. The pass verifies that passengers have returned a negative COVID-19 test result in the 72 hours before their departure.

Qantas' Gold Coast-Auckland service represents economic impact of USD38 million
Gold Coast Airport announced Qantas' plans to launch a daily Gold Coast-Auckland service on 19-Apr-2021 represents a regional economic impact of AUD50 million (USD38.3 million) per annum. Queensland Airports Limited CEO Chris Mills stated: "These flights will see us immediately reach pre-COVID-19 capacity levels between the Gold Coast and Auckland, with Jetstar and Air New Zealand also supporting this route". The service will provide 63,000 seats per annum to the region.