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Australian government ministers have expressed delight over the latest report on international airline activity into and out of Australia, released on Friday. Here are highlights and surprises from the report, followed by the official comments.

Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the report demonstrated “the significant benefits of open trade and the current strength of our tourism industry underpinned by strong international traveller numbers”.

Low-cost carriers had a smaller share of Australia’s overall international air market this year than they did last year. Last year it was 17.7%; this year it is just 15.9%, according to the International Airline Activity 2017-18 report compiled by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE).

  • Over the past decade, the Qantas share of the total has decreased and the Jetstar share has risen. The decrease in share for the Qantas group (Qantas Airways, Jetstar and Jetstar Asia in 2017-18 compared to Qantas and Jetstar in 2007-08) was 5.3%.
  • In the latest year, Qantas Airways had the largest share of the market with 16.7% followed by Jetstar with 9.1%, Singapore Airlines with 8.1%, Emirates with 8% and Air New Zealand with 6.6%.
  • Compared to 2007-08, Qantas Airways’ share has decreased by 9.1%, Jetstar’s share has increased by 3.3%, Singapore Airlines’ share has decreased by 3%, Emirates’ share has increased by 0.7 percentage points and Air New Zealand’s share has decreased by 2.7%. The decrease in share for the Qantas group (Qantas Airways, Jetstar and Jetstar Asia in 2017-18 compared to Qantas and Jetstar in 2007-08) was 5.3%.
  • The share of passenger traffic accounted for by Australian designated airlines decreased from 33% in 2007-08 to 31.4% in 2012-13 and increased to 31.9% in 2017-18. Qantas Airways, Jetstar and Virgin Australia contributed to the Australian airline share in 2017-18 (prior to August 2015, some Virgin Australia trans-Tasman services were operated as New Zealand designated services).
  • Sixty-four international scheduled airlines operated services to/from Australia during the financial year ending 30 June 2018 (total includes five dedicated freight airlines but excludes airlines operating only via codeshare arrangements).
  • International scheduled passenger traffic in 2017-18 was 40.619 million compared to 38.661 million in 2016-17 – an increase of 5.1%.
  • For the past 10 years, each year has recorded an increase in traffic compared to the previous year. March 2011 (-1.6%) was the last time that monthly passenger traffic recorded a decrease compared to the same month in the previous year.
  • Seats made available on international scheduled operations in 2017-18 totalled 52.897 million – an increase of 4.5% compared to 2016-17. The overall seat utilisation percentage (load factor, including AirAsia X, China Airlines, Emirates, Philippine Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines passengers travelling through Australian ports) has increased from 79.3% in 2016-17 to 79.6% in 2017-18.
  • In 2017-18, Low Cost Carriers AirAsia X, Cebu Pacific Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar, Jetstar Asia and Scoot/Scoot Tigerair together accounted for 15.9% of total international passenger traffic. This compares to the LCC share of 17.7% in 2016-17.
  • Of the major Australian airports, seat utilisation in 2017-18 was highest at Melbourne at 81.2% (increase of 0.1% over 2016-17). This was followed by Sydney and Gold Coast at 80.1% (increase of 0.2% for Sydney and 1.5% for Gold Coast), Adelaide and Perth at 78.2% (decrease of 1.4% for Adelaide and increase of 1.1% for Perth) and Brisbane at 77.5% (decrease of 0.4%).
  • New Zealand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, China, and USA were the top five countries in terms of traffic on board passenger movements in 2017-18. Seat utilisation was highest for UK (non-stop services) at 93.8% followed by Chile at 85.3 per cent, India at 83.2%, South Africa at 83% and Japan at 82.4%.
  • In 2017-18, 14.1% of the passenger movements to/from Australia were either to/from or via Singapore. Auckland was the next largest hub accounting for 11.8% followed by Hong Kong (6.6%), Denpasar (6.4%) and Dubai (6.%).
  • In 2017-18, 34.2% of the 52.897 million seats operated to/from Australia were either to/from or via South East Asia. North East Asia had 20.5% followed by New Zealand at 18.7%, Middle East at 11.8%, North America at 8.3% and the other regions accounted for 6.5%.

Download the full report here.

Trade, tourism links see growth in Aussie travel

Releasing the report, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said jobs, more trade and new opportunities would flow thanks to strong growth in travel from China and a significant increase in air freight movement.

McCormack said it showed the Australian Government’s aviation policy was helping create jobs and opportunities and achieving results.

“Every plane, every passenger and every cargo container helps create jobs, opportunities and an economic benefit for Australians,” McCormack said.

“These latest aviation statistics paint a very positive picture for the Australian economy, and that means the benefit will flow to tourism operators, exporters and farmers around the nation.

“Our decisions during past year to support passenger and freight growth, including an open skies-style agreement with China, is paying off for locals and for the economy.

“We also implemented a significant expansion of air services arrangements with India in June 2018 and with both Fiji and the Philippines earlier this month which I hope will see the opportunities for Australians grow in those regions too.”

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the report demonstrated the significant benefits of open trade and the current strength of our tourism industry underpinned by strong international traveller numbers.

“We’ve seen steady growth in air freight traffic, particularly outbound freight, which means Australian businesses are benefiting from greater opportunities to export more of their goods to more corners of the globe,” Birmingham said.

“We will continue to back Australian businesses by opening new doors and pursuing new market opportunities that allow them to sell more of their high-quality produce and goods to the rest of the world.

“We should also be encouraged by the strong international traveller numbers in this report which show a 22% spike in visitors from China and that Australia has already met our current 2020 inbound passenger seat targets.

“This is good news for our local tourism industry as more international travellers mean more people in our restaurants, staying in our hotels and visiting our tourist attractions. This is good for Australian businesses and ultimately helps contribute to a stronger economy and more Australian jobs.”

Edited by Peter Needham