I am not a complete fan of Qantas survival strategy outlined by CEO Joyce in 2011. The strategy involved the following key elements: Paring back Qantas International to key points such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Santiago and Dallas, handing passengers over to One World partners at those points Creating a Premium airline in Asia in conjunction with an Asian partner called RedQ, RedQ Executive Flyer, OneAsia or RedSky, all names Qantas trademarked in Jun-2011 This carrer would operate an initial fleet of eight A320s, growing to 11 in the medium-term, focused on service to key medium-haul Asian destinations like China and India…
Monthly Archives
Monthly Archives for March 2012.
Wacky Wednesday? Air Pacific Nationalises
Today’s wacky Wednesday post is a little different. Is what Fiji doing with their carrier Wacky? The Fijian government led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power in a coup d’état in December 2006. Fiji has been running against the world and pushing back against Australia since then. Australia and Fji expelled each other’s diplomats in 2009 and Fiji has been increasingly making it difficult for foreign owned [often Australian controlled] businesses to operate. Now the “war” has moved to the air. Air Pacific, the flag carrier, was Fiji Air. It was founded in 1951 by Gatty, an Australian aviator. 70 per cent of all travellers to the island nation use Air Pacific, although competition by the two…
Tuesday Trip Report: United: London-Washington
I flew four days after the finalisation of the United-Continental merger and four days after the new combined reservations system had commenced. Thought I would test things didn’t I? This flight was the 830th I have ever flown in my life and was my 93rd flight with United and/or Continental. The flight itself was pretty okay. It was about what I would expect from the pre merger United so if I was expecting a dramatic leap to being one of the world’s greatest airlines as promised by United CEO, I didn’t see it. I have long regarded United as one of the worst legacy carriers in the…
This Week: March 26 to April 1
I am in sunny Perth, Australia! Anyone else here? Any tips or advice for the week? I have no flights for a whole week! Luxury! Have a great week.
Armavia Ailing or Aspiring?
Few will have heard of Amravia but this week they sounded like they were about to join the list if bankrupt airlines for 2012. Armavia is the national airline of Armenia, a small landlocked mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It was part of the USSR. Armavia was established in 1996, with commercial flights to Russia and Turkey starting in 2001. It had a strategic alliance with Russian S7 Airlines who owned 68% of Armavia for a while. The carrier took over flights from Armenian airlines which went bankrupt in 2003 and then it…
Invention for Slow walkers
One of my frustrations in Airports are people who meander. Some people wander slowly through airports because they are lost or confused or stressed and some because they are day dreaming. These individuals (and groups) walk slowly on travelators, stop for discussions at the top of escalators, hold the button on the lifts (elevators) and bunch at the doors of airports. Drives me crazy!! I am always trying to minimise my time in an airport, so I want to plow through. I am also familiar with airports and how to quickly get to gates. I have to remember, not everyone is as adept…
Trip Report: Thalys – Paris – Amsterdam
I love trains! Always have. Travelling from Paris to Amsterdam recently, the logical thing was to book a flight.In fact, the friends I was meeting, assumed I would fly in. There is an amazing alternative, which means I got to ride a train! Thalys is a direct train service using High Speed lines to key destinations on two routes: Paris-Brussels-Cologne-Essen and Paris-Brussels-Antwerp-Amsterdam. Thalys International company is owned by the SNCF French Railways -62%, Belgium Railways (NMBS/SNCB ) -28% and German Railways ( Deutsche Bahn) -10%. Thalys has no meaning and can be spoken, understood and recognised by travellers from all of the countries served…
This Week: 19th to 25th March
I fly from New York to Melbourne via Los Angeles and Sydney (United and Qantas with a sector on my beloved 380!) bringing my flights for the year to 25 from 22 airports in 9 countries on 4 continents with 10 airlines! So much for flying less in 2012! On my Qantas flight to Sydney, my total miles will exceed 1, 200 000 air miles flown in my life (five times between earth and moon) and a scarey 17 weeks inside planes! Check out myFlightmemory for more information. Home briefly before heading to Perth, Western Australia (flight 26 for…
Air India and the 787 revisited
On July 18, 2011, I declared that it was unlikely we would see a promised Air India 787 flying non stop between Melbourne and Delhi by October of that year. I was right. More recently, the Premier (Leader) of the state of Victoria, Australia (capital Melbourne) led a delegation to India where discussion about this proposed service occurred with India’s civil aviation minister. It is now believed a direct Melbourne- New Delhi service will start in 2013. The airline expects to get their first 787 in May 2012 with seven delivered by March, 2013. It is believed Boeing has agreed to compensate the airline about…
Direct Air Directionless
To the list of defunct airlines in 2012: Air Australia, Air Zimbabwe, Spanair and Malev, we can add the latest collapse of an airline: Directair. After suspending all of its scheduled flights in the middle of the spring break travel season last week, there probably was not much left to do. White knights are few and far between in this economy. Initially they promised a resumption of service on March 15. This resumption was delayed until May 15. Now that option has gone. Court documents show the company has at least $10 million in debt and just $500,000 to…
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