Business Case for the SunShine CoaSt airport Master Plan

Emirates currently has the world's largest order of Airbus A380s with five in its fleet and a
further 53 to be delivered. Emirates commenced its A380s non-stop on the Dubai to Sydney
(and on to Auckland) route in February 2009. Services increased from three times weekly to
daily in May.
A second daily service from Dubai to Brisbane and on to Auckland commenced in February
2009, providing the first direct, non-stop option between Dubai and Brisbane. The new
Brisbane services are operated by A340-500s. A third daily service to Melbourne also
commenced in February.
Emirates provide direct access from Dubai to some 19 European cities.
Emirates has teamed up with Virgin Blue to launch the Visit Australia Pass, offering
passengers travelling to Australia the chance to extend their journey to 22 destinations at a
reduced cost. The pass is only available in combination with return flights on Emirates to
Australia.
Etihad Airways
Etihad began operations to its third Australian port in March 2009 with the arrival of its first
direct flight into Melbourne. Daily flights are operated by A340s.
Brisbane and Sydney services commenced during 2007.
Etihad Airways and Virgin Blue have a comprehensive interline agreement which provides
travellers with seamless connectivity to 22 Australian cities and from Brisbane and Sydney to
Abu Dhabi and beyond.
A new codeshare arrangement between Qantas and Etihad Airways gives Qantas non-stop
access to Abu Dhabi on Etihad’s services.
From Abu Dhabi Etihad’s European network includes some 13 destinations.
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways has announced that it will launch Australian services in December 2009,
initially to Melbourne. Plans to begin with three weekly services, using a new B777-200 Long
Range aircraft.
Qatar provides access to some 15 European destinations.
Jetstar has recently commenced interline and ticket settlement relationships with Qatar.
Impact on Travel
TFI’s assessment is that the LCCs will continue to relace full service airline capacity on
leisure-oriented air routes. Overall this will have a stimulatory impact on air travel
particularly for airports such as SCA.
3.3 Domestic and International Tourism
TFI has collated data from the National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey
(NVS) produced by Tourism Research Australia (TRA).
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