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16 Qantas Annual Report 2004
Australian Airlines
Australian Airlines is a full-service, single-class international
leisure carrier that began flying in October 2002.
Its principal strategic aim is to maintain a presence for the
Qantas Group in markets where Qantas International, with
its higher costs, cannot compete.
The airline employs more than 400 people – the majority at
its operational base in Cairns. It contributes almost $800
million annually to the Queensland economy.
Over the past 12 months, the airline has almost doubled its
route network from seven ports in four countries to 12 ports
in six countries. In May 2004, Australian Airlines celebrated
flying its one millionth passenger.
Since its launch, Australian Airlines has positioned itself as a
holiday airline flying to holiday destinations. The airline's
operations have progressed in two phases:
the first phase focused on carrying tourists inbound to
Cairns from Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, Singapore and
Hong Kong, with connections from Cairns to the Gold
Coast and, later, Sydney; and
the second phase commenced in June 2003 with the
introduction of two new outbound holiday destinations –
Sabah in Malaysia and Bali in Indonesia.
Australian Airlines offers the only non-stop flights between
Australia and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and has significantly
contributed to an almost threefold increase in Australians
travelling to this region.
Bali is once again a popular destination, with Australians
returning in greater numbers than before 2002.
Australian Airlines operates services to Bali from Sydney and
Melbourne, while Qantas continues to operate services to
Bali from Perth and Darwin.
Singapore-Darwin services were added to the network in
May 2004 with international connections between Darwin
and Cairns. These services complement Qantas flights
between Singapore and Darwin, provide more domestic
travel options between Darwin and Cairns and boost one-
stop connections to the Top End for Japanese travellers.
Australian Airlines plans to begin flying to Sapporo, its fourth
Japanese port, on the northern island of Hokkaido, pending
government approval. The twice weekly seasonal flights will
operate between November 2004 and March 2005 during
the Japanese winter to coincide with the peak travel and
ski seasons.
This additional flying was made possible by the addition of
a fifth Boeing 767-300ER to the Australian Airlines fleet.
Australian Airlines will continue to grow in the year ahead
with plans for a sixth aircraft in 2005, providing a 20 per
cent increase in capacity for use on existing routes as well
as to new ports.
Australian Airlines also worked closely with tourism partners
and holiday package wholesalers to offer tailor-made travel
options. In September and October 2004, Australian Airlines
will operate six non-stop charter flights between Sydney and
Phuket in Thailand in conjunction with Qantas Holidays
HighlightThe full-service, single-class international leisure carrier, Australian Airlines, introduced
five new destinations in 2003/04 – Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Bali and Sabah.