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Major Airline Directory
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This issue of our Major Airline Directory covers the first 12 month period of airline deregulation in Australia and as we forecast last year Australia has experienced exactly the same problems as has gone before in North America.
Compass Airlines were the first of the new deregulated airlines and to date they have been the only one. Compass started flying on 01/12/90 and just over 12 months later on 20/12/91 they ceased operations. In this time they carried over 1. 4 million passengers and captured 10% of the domestic market, which are figures any new start airline would be pleased with. Provisional statistics for the 12 months ending 31/12/91 as issued by the Department of Transport & Communications reveal a very buoyant airline industry. These figures show that the airlines recorded a 35% rise in passenger kilometres and a 29% rise in passengers carried over the previous 12 months. Figures for the December quarter were even more dynamic, rising by 43% and 37% respectively. How can this be so when the countryis enduring a severe recession and why should Compass fail and why are all the new entrant airlines sitting in the wings not rushing in to start operations? What these figures do not show is the amount each passenger is paying for his or her ticket and the yield that the airlines are receiving. That is certainly the bottom line and why the domestic airline industry in Australia is hurting so badly at present.
Orders for aircraft from airlines in our region in this period totalled 13, which is on a par with last years report,but compares badly with the previous two years when we were able to record figures of 76 and 79 respectively. Of the 13 aircraft ordered 10 came from our two major international airlines,Air New Zealand (1 747-400, 4 767-300) and Qantas (4 747-400, 1 767-300). It also means that between them the other23 airlinesin ourreport ordered a total of 3 aircraft. Under present conditions it is very difficult to see the figures for 1988 and 1989 being achieved again. Airline planners appear to have exhausted themselves in thefrenzyof thelate 80s with some orders being for 7 or 8 years down the track. It is very noticeable just how quiet the Ansett Group are at present. Ansett Australia added an A320 to their fleetin 03/91 then deferred delivery of their nextA320 by six months to 04/92. From there Ansett do not plan to take delivery of another aircraft until their first A321 in 07/95. Even Ansett Worldwide, who are known for their multi million dollar orders, have not signed for one aircraft in the last twelve months. In fact their last order was placed in 02/91 when they converted two Al A300-600R options to orders. Though AWAS leased or sold 21 aircraft in this period it would appear that the next 12 months aregoing to be far more difficult. One sector of the market that is starting to look up is for used aircraft. Last year we reported that the airlines had 23 F27s and three 737-lO0s parked awaiting sale. The F27 situation has eased with the sale by Air New Zealand of eight F27-500s to Merpati Nusantara, while Ansett have also moved a couple of their stored F27s. Added to the list this year are five Fokker 50s which Ansett have stored in Melbourne. For some months now Ansett have been advertising for sale the Fokker 50s together with five F28-1000s that are still in service, however there appears to be little interest. Also by the end of 1992 Australian Airlines will have a number of 727-200s for sale. In this period 25 aircraft weredelivered to airlines in our region while 15 were sold overseas. Fleet total now stands at 247 aircraft.
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