Emirates appears to be winning the battle of the Gulf carriers on Australian soil, after increasing traffic from UAE by 24.4% in August, to more than 140,000 passengers.Etihad’s numbers dipped slightly 1.8% to 45,000; while Qatar increased its figures by 37.6% to more than 16,000 passengers. Emirates’ overall traffic to Australia rose by 14.5% giving it a 8.2% market share in Australia. The carrier handled 198,000 passengers – more than three times the number handled by its to main Gulf competitors combined – but saw drops in traffic from Malaysia (31.5%), Singapore (24%), and Thailand (23.2%). Qantas remains market leader in its home country with a 17% share. It saw its traffic numbers increase slightly (1.2%) despite losing large chunks of traffic from the UK, New Zealand, and Singapore. The carrier achieved the improvement with a 10.9% (10,000) rise in passenger numbers to the US, which now accounts for nearly one quarter of its traffic. Qantas also saw a 16.1% rise in traffic from Japan, to 18,000, and a 13.1% rise in traffic. Passenger numbers across all carriers rose 4.7% in Australia in August, however traffic from the UK saw a big dip, from 52,000 in 2011 to 40,000 in 2012. British Airways saw its numbers decrease by 38%, after ditching services from Thailand and decreasing flights from the UK. Qantas, which is set to axe its commercial partnership with BA next year, to tie up with Emirates, also saw numbers from the UK drop. Virgin Atlantic was the only carrier to increase numbers from the UK with a modest in crease from 4,900 last year to 6,600 in 2012. Passenger numbers from Indonesia rose year-on-year, helping carriers such as Jetstar, who saw a 32.7% increase in traffic from the country. The airline’s overall traffic remained steady, with a 2.8% rise and an 8.7% market share. Garuda Indonesia saw a 16.8% rise to 55,460; Virgin Australia saw a 4.8% rise from Indonesia, to 45,000; while Qantas also saw its numbers grow slightly from the country. However, AirAsia Indonesia’s numbers dropped 25% by around 8,000 passengers. Aerolineas Argentinas nearly doubled its traffic from Argentina from 2,200 to 4,300, while China Southern saw its numbers rise by 35% to 55,000.Source: Routenews
Gravity always wins!