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Airports

Yesterday

A Qantas Airbus A380 at Sydney Airport. A shortage of planes means airfares are unlikely to fall dramatically over the next year.

Surging international flights leave airports bullish for year ahead

A return of American and Chinese carriers has pushed overseas routes to their highest levels since the pandemic. It may not mean dramatically cheaper fares.

  • Jenny Wiggins

This Month

Japan Airline’s new twin-aisle A350-1000.

Sojitz joins forces with JAL affiliate for North Queensland Airports

With earnings of some $115 million this financial year, North Queensland Airports is expected to be worth about $3 billion.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran.

Greg Foran goes hard to reverse Air New Zealand’s nose dive

He’s run Walmart and Woolworths supermarkets. Now the rugby-mad Kiwi plans to end half a decade of poor performance with an unusual move to retrofit old planes.

  • Ayesha de Kretser
A chartered repatriation flight arrives at Brisbane Airport.

Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC acquires stake in Brisbane Airport

GIC has acquired about 5 per cent of Brisbane Airport at a time when it has posted record revenue and has a $5 billion spending plan over the next decade.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

November

Medevac Flights founder William Cassidy.

This is the fastest-growing company in Australia

Founded by an ex-banker, this air ambulance start-up has achieved 700 per cent revenue growth thanks to business from the cruise industry.

  • Primrose Riordan
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Farewell, Macquarie … A plane takes off from Aberdeen Airport.

Macquarie makes 50pc gain in $3b British airport sell-off

The asset manager was forced to sell off three UK airports as it winds down a closed-end fund. It joins a slew of recent transactions in the frothy sector.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Qantas says it only seeks slots it intends to use for flights for Australia’s busiest airport.

‘Categorically, we do not slot hoard’: Qantas denies gaming the system

Executives have been challenged over the airline’s dominance at Australia’s busiest airport – Sydney – in peak periods.

  • Tom McIlroy
Vesna Poljak AFR companies editor with Sydney Airport boss Scott Charlton and Qantas head of international and freight Cam Wallace on Monday.

Qantas claims network advantage will outgun bulked up Qatar

Qantas international boss Cam Wallace says the wet leasing arrangement that facilitates the partnership between Virgin and Qatar cannot be indefinite.

  • Ayesha de Kretser and Jenny Wiggins

Import-export firms embrace disrupter Neolink

The Challenger winner of the Business-to-Business category uses AI to decipher thousands of pages of shipping paperwork and speed up deliveries.

  • Sylvia Ramsey

October

A piece of Melbourne Airport is up for grabs.

Sale docs out for Dexus’ stake in Melbourne, Launceston airports

Melbourne airport revenue grew 17 per cent to $1.2 billion in the 2024 financial year, while EBITDA rose 21 per cent to $82.1 million, according to the teaser.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Auckland Airport billed a $1.4 billion raise in September as a “once-in-a-generation investment”.

ECM teams salivate over $1b-plus Auckland Airport block trade

Should the deal land this week as expected, it would be among 2024’s largest block trades.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
An artist impression of Cairns Airport.

North Queensland Airports owners launch $3b auction; 100pc for sale

It is the first 100 per cent sale of a privately held airport asset with more than 1 million passengers in the past 15 years.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Goodbye Sydney: warehouse owners priced out of town

The resulting transport and storage charges will flow on to the cost of living in Sydney, even to the cost of building a new home.

  • Updated
  • Robert Harley
Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake sits next to Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the UK government’s international investment summit.

Local investors roped into British PM Starmer’s pitch to big business

Macquarie and IFM Investors highlighted their UK ambitions, as the new Labour government fought back against perceptions it is hostile to business.

  • Hans van Leeuwen

September

Delta Airlines

Airport valuations take flight as Queensland, Perth airport sales sign

Perth Airport’s holding value was 18-times earnings, while UTA sold at 20-times to – depending on who you ask – 22-times.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
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Gold Coast airport accounts for nearly 75 per cent of Queensland Airport Limited’s traffic volumes.

Skip, KKR set to revive infra M&A with $3b Queensland Airports deal

The Queensland Airports acquisition signals a re-rating of unlisted infrastructure portfolios, starting with airports, industry insiders told Street Talk.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Gold Coast airport accounts for nearly 75 per cent of Queensland Airport Limited’s traffic volumes.

KKR, Kim Jackson’s Skip Capital win $3b Queensland Airports race

Queensland Airports Limited is KKR’s first airports deal around the world.

  • Updated
  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Gold Coast Airport accounted for 74 per cent of QAL’s FY23 revenue.

Three-horse race at Queensland Airports; Dexus snags a wingman

Dexus has survived the loss of a bid partner while KKR’s dealmakers seem to have overcome last-minute doubts about lobbing a binding bid.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Bradfield City CEO Ken Morrison and Jennifer Westacott, for story about the vision for Bradfield City and what’s next for the city centre of the Aerotropolis.

The new high-tech Australian CBD shaping up to rival Singapore

3D printing, semiconductors and advanced packaging are all part of a high-tech mix envisaged for Bradfield city planned for Sydney’s west.

  • Campbell Kwan
The Federal Court judge on the case is Michael Lee.

Major class action against Virgin Australia gathers steam

The central allegation is that the then ASX-listed Virgin Australia used multiple tactics to make its cash position look better than it was – before collapsing into administration. And there’s fresh evidence to back up these claims.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/airports-huq