Qantas 2008 Annual Report Download - page 14

12 Qantas Annual Report 2008
Qantas
New Routes
635635
Qantas employed 635 new cabin crew
to service the airline’s international fleet.
International
Strong increases in both yield and load factors
on the Qantas international network resulted
in an outstanding contribution to the overall
Group performance.
The first Qantas A380 was delivered in September 2008, after seven
years of detailed planning and preparation by dedicated project teams
across the Qantas Group. The aircraft boasts new generation interiors
that set an industry benchmark for comfort and style in all classes,
including the new Premium Economy cabin.
Qantas expanded its reach to a new continent with the
announcement of its first non-stop service to Buenos Aires
from November 2008.
Qantas added capacity on growth routes, including the USA,
China and Hong Kong in 2007/08, and announced plans for
increased capacity to South Africa.
Qantas employed 635 new cabin crew to service the airline’s
international fleet. Further recruitment will continue to 2010.
In March 2008, Qantas announced it would establish a new
Customer Service Centre of Excellence in Sydney to provide enhanced
training for more than 18,000 Qantas staff. The Centre, opening
in December 2008, will provide training to complement the new
generation of inflight product.
Qantas, The World’s Most Experienced Airline was the theme
of a major advertising campaign launched in some of Qantas’
most important international markets including North America,
the United Kingdom and Asia. The campaign featured Qantas’
award winning inflight product and some of Australia’s
iconic destinations.
The Skytrax World Airline Awards in August 2008, judged by more
than 15 million travellers, ranked Qantas number three in the world
and awarded Qantas Best Airline Australasia, Best First Lounge and
Best Economy Catering. This was the sixth consecutive year that
Qantas had been listed in the world’s top five airlines – one of only
two airlines to achieve this.
Network Developments
North America: New York services increased from five per week
to daily in August 2007 and three additional weekly services to
Los Angeles were introduced in March 2008 – one from Sydney
and two from Brisbane. Honolulu services increased from three
to four per week in April 2008. Qantas currently operates 47
services per week to the USA, including Honolulu (43 to mainland
USA). The introduction of the A380 in October 2008 will result
in some adjustment to the frequency of the B747-400 aircraft
to the USA from early 2009.
China: Qantas increased services between Australia and China with
an additional return service between Sydney and Shanghai in August
2007. Two new services per week between Melbourne and Shanghai
commenced in March 2008. Qantas now offers 10 services per week
between the two countries.
Hong Kong: Qantas expanded services to Hong Kong and is now
operating 31 flights per week including double daily flights from
Sydney, 10 from Melbourne, four from Brisbane and three from
Perth. Qantas Hong Kong services are operated by either A330-300
or B747-400 aircraft.
South America: The first non-stop service from Australia to Buenos
Aires will commence in November 2008. Three return B747-400
services per week will offer connections to other destinations in
South America, including Brazil. These will complement Qantas’
six weekly existing codeshare services to Santiago, Chile.
India: Three A330-200 non-stop return services per week were
introduced between Sydney and Mumbai in February 2008,
replacing three one-stop services via Darwin.
South Africa: An additional weekly service between Sydney
and Johannesburg will be introduced from December 2008,
increasing frequency on the route from five to six per week,
in addition to five weekly codeshare services between
Perth and Johannesburg.
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