Qatar Airways kickstarts Adelaide flights with Australia’s first A350
IMAGES: SOUTH Australians should “send a message” to national airline Qantas by choosing to fly airlines with direct international flights from Adelaide, like Qatar Airways, SA Tourism Minister Leon Bignell says.
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SOUTH Australians should “send a message” to national airline Qantas by choosing to fly airlines with direct international flights from Adelaide, like Qatar Airways, SA Tourism Minister Leon Bignell says.
Qantas stopped its international direct flights from Adelaide in May 2013, forcing Adelaide travellers using their services to fly interstate to board onward overseas flights.
At Adelaide Airport to launch Qatar Airways’ direct daily flights to and from Adelaide, Mr Bignell’s message was clear, though he stopped shy of using the word “boycott”.
“This is a free market,” he said.
“We have got lots of airlines that do support SA and so for anyone considering flying to Asia or Europe, don’t go via Melbourne or Sydney or Brisbane to get there.
“Don’t go Qantas if you have to get to eastern states to get out of Australia.
“We have airlines here that do the right thing and fly in and out of Adelaide. That’s very important for us not just in tourism and also for trade.
“Stick with SA airlines that support us and fly direct out of Adelaide.
“Support them and maybe that will send a message to Qantas.”
In response, Qantas said it was extremely disappointed at Mr Bignell’s comments.
“No airline operates more flights in-and-out of Adelaide than Qantas. We invest millions every year in marketing South Australia as a destination.
“We buy huge volumes of South Australian produce that we serve in our lounges and on our aircraft. And we’re one of the biggest employers in the state,” Qantas’ government affairs group executive Andrew Parker said in a statement.
“It’s amazing how one flight from another carrier cancels all that out for Mr Bignell. It’s true that we don’t directly operate international flights through Adelaide, simply because it’s not commercially viable for us.
“But we do offer international flights via our partner Emirates and Jetstar flies daily from Adelaide to Bali,” Mr Parker said.
Qatar Airways begins its daily services to and from Adelaide to Doha in the Middle East today with a showstopper for its rivals — flying the first A350 into Australia this evening.
The airline already flies from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth but uses larger Boeing 777s on those routes. But the world’s newest commercial jet is its aircraft of choice for Adelaide.
The flights will arrive from Doha at 4.25pm and depart at 9.30pm. Today’s inaugural flight is due to land early at 3.45pm.
The Advertiser’s Travel Reporter Brad Crouch recently tested A350’s claims to reduce jet-lag with some great results.
Mr Bignell has previously said the flights will be worth $41 million a year to the economy, creating 228 jobs.
It is also expected to fuel inbound tourism and provide a direct freight route to Doha and beyond for South Australian produce, including seafood.
Mr Bignell revealed today the SA Government, Adelaide Airport and Qatar were jointly putting in funds to market SA as a tourism destination.
He also ruled out removing the night flights curfew at Adelaide Airport, saying international airports around the world had them and had managed operations around those times.
Akbar Al Baker will lead a delegation from Qatar on the inaugural flight.
“Adelaide is an important addition to our route map, and we are pleased to offer the people of South Australia the most modern aircraft in the industry to connect them with 38 countries in Europe, 23 countries in Africa, and 27 destinations in the Middle East,” Mr Al Baker said in a statement.
Daily flights from Doha-Adelaide will begin after @qatarairways touched down in #SouthAustralia for the first time pic.twitter.com/aHWxImlOZ6
— South Australia (@southaustralia) May 3, 2016
Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young the new service was “excellent news” for both the local tourism industry and South Australians travelling abroad.
“We’re excited to be the first airport in Australia to welcome the new-generation Airbus A350-900 aircraft — one of the world’s most technologically advanced twin-engine aircraft.”
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