this came as a real shock to me, i took QF to Singapore from Rome on Sunday last, the plane had only 50 seats empty out of 370.
Qantas halts Rome flights
June 12, 2003
QANTAS is suspending its twice weekly services to Rome via Singapore, blaming tough conditions for international airlines.
The airline said it would instead commence codeshare services four times each week to Rome via Hong Kong with oneworld partner Cathay Pacific.
Chief executive Geoff Dixon said Qantas began services to Rome in 1948 and the suspension highlighted an extremely difficult operating environment.
“This decision has not been made lightly,” he said.
“The aviation industry is going through the most difficult period in its history, with SARS compounding the consequences of the events of 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the threat of terrorism
By: monster500 - 17th June 2003 at 03:32
it adds an extra 1hr 10 to the journey, but then again this is not always the case, it can be longer or shorter.
By: Bhoy - 16th June 2003 at 23:00
yeah, but how long is it the other way, into headwinds, rather than with tailwinds?
By: monster500 - 15th June 2003 at 01:37
virgin blue is part owned by Patrick Corp, a shipping and logistics Company.
as for DXB-SYD nonstop, the flight is about 13hrs45min, not to bad at all.
By: greekdude1 - 14th June 2003 at 21:07
I think the DXB stop is a viable option, and they could look at converting some existing A346 orders to the A345. That would be a LONG flight from DXB to either SYD or MEL, 16+ hours perhaps? I was aware that Virgin Blue wasn’t entirely owned by the Virgin group, but I wasn’t sure what the %’s were.
By: Saab 2000 - 14th June 2003 at 20:57
I think they would like a continuation of a current service, possibly Shanghai?
By: mongu - 14th June 2003 at 20:55
I don’t suppose big daddy SIA want Virgin routing through SIN!
I would expect resistance from the home carriers at most of the other Asian gateways too, because Virgin might erode the market between Europe and Australia which the likes of Thai and Malaysian are looking at. Vietnam, a good possibility I suppose.
Emirates always say that Dubai has a total open skies policy. Might it therefore be possible to do a 1-stop route, LHR-DXB-Australia?
Emirates want to do this when they get new aircraft – Virgin might want to look at the A340-500 for such a route?
Greekdude – Virgin Blue is not 100% a Virgin company. A huge share is owned by an Aussie backer, possibly 50 or 51%. Again, most probably to get round protectionism. Then again, Virgin do tend to leverage their brand and let their partners chip in a lot (as with the Virgin Mobile cellphone outfit; they use somebody else’s network for the calls).
By: greekdude1 - 14th June 2003 at 20:36
If they can’t routing via HKG, then why not SIN or BKK like everybody else? Or perhaps, KUL or Vietnam even.
By: Saab 2000 - 14th June 2003 at 20:31
Virgin does want to fly to Australia, just think of the potential for Pacific island connections if/when Virgin Blue goes international plus for Australian regional, it would be a lucrative business.
The sticking point at the moment I believe is the routing through Hong Kong. Virgin need to have permission for the right to fly between Hong Kong and Australia. Cathay are not happy and if it were to happen would like to be able to fly London-US.
By: greekdude1 - 14th June 2003 at 19:13
I seriously doubt it. Otherwise, how would Branson have been allowed to start up Virgin Blue?
By: mongu - 13th June 2003 at 18:33
I’m at a loss – why does no one fly to Australia? The market seems to be there. Are there any Aussie government issues you’re aware of (protectionism) ?
By: Saab 2000 - 13th June 2003 at 16:56
Well you might get to see Virgin Atlantic down there soon 😉 Plus the Alitalia looks likely with the 777 via Kuala Lumpa for the winter season.
By: greekdude1 - 13th June 2003 at 04:57
They would be foolish not to start up for the Northern Hemisphere season, them and OA. All those Greeks can’t all jam into SQ if they want to go 1-stop!
By: monster500 - 13th June 2003 at 04:52
you are correct about Lauda GD. that and BA are the only 2 euro carriers down here.
i know TG suspended BKK-ATH for a small period of time, not sure how long or if it running again.
By: greekdude1 - 13th June 2003 at 04:32
Indeed it is, Monster. So I’m assuming Lauda no longer flies down there, then? Also, did TG discontinue thier BKK-ATH segment, like you mentioned earlier?
By: monster500 - 13th June 2003 at 04:20
it truly is amazing that the only european carrier into Australia is BA.
with the amount of people from Europe living in Australia this truly is astounding.
By: greekdude1 - 13th June 2003 at 04:11
Wasn’t aware of the Thai situation. I also meant to say, Eastern Australia, where the biggest population is, which pretty much leaves SQ, until EK gets the A345.
By: monster500 - 13th June 2003 at 03:45
SQ and EK are the only ones atm.
TG suspended services not to long ago for a while.
By: greekdude1 - 13th June 2003 at 03:37
QF used to fly to Greece, but haven’t done so for years. OA stopped recently. It’s ridiculous, ditto with the Italy situation. SN and TG are banking on this at the moment, as they are the only ones to offer one-stop service between Australia and Athens.
By: mongu - 12th June 2003 at 20:31
Well, I bet Emirates and Singapore Airlines are rubbing their hands with glee!
By: Saab 2000 - 12th June 2003 at 13:56
It was a code-share between Swiss and Qantas I was thinking about via Frankfurt to Sydney rather than Cathay Pacific 😉 Thanks Skycruiser.
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June 12, 2003 at 10:52 am