Adelaide Airport has made a fresh appeal for Qantas to relaunch Adelaide-Auckland services under its partnership with Emirates, breaking Air New Zealand’s monopoly on the route and creating a new link between New Zealand and Dubai.
In a submission to the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, the airport said the airline’s alliance with Emirates would free up a B737-800 aircraft on the Sydney-Auckland route which is served by the Gulf carrier’s A380 aircraft.
The result would maintain pre-alliance aggregated capacity, but with the “considerable added benefit” of a new service from Adelaide to Auckland operated by Qantas on what is currently a monopoly route, executive general manager business development, Malcolm Andrews said.
“In addition to the benefits afforded to local trans-Tasman traffic, there is also significant benefit in offering a new link between Dubai and Auckland, via South Australia’s capital city,” he said.
In an earlier submission, Mark Young, the airport’s chief executive, had also underlined the potential benefits to tourism, business and trade between South Australia and New Zealand, introducing “competition and premium product” on the route.
He referred to figures which show Qantas passengers flying between Adelaide and New Zealand via Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane currently account for 29%, 22% and 3% respectively of traffic between the two destinations.
Qantas last operated services between Adelaide and Auckland in 2007.
Meanwhile, Emirates responded to a request from the ACCC for a description of the top five goods or services procured by the airline last year as the competition regulator continues to assess the proposed tie-up.
The carrier identified jet fuel, aircraft, inflight catering, aircraft handling services and aircraft engines as its main expenses in order.
