Avalon Airport boss Justin Giddings says it has room for Qantas relocation
If Qantas wants to relocate its heavy maintenance and head office to Avalon Airport there’s room to do so, airport boss Justin Giddings says. But there is a catch.
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If Qantas wants to relocate its heavy maintenance and head office to Avalon Airport there’s room to do so, its boss says.
But Avalon chief executive Justin Giddings said The Flying Kangaroo would need to build facilities at the airport because all its hangars were leased.
“Any move would probably have to involve building hangars but certainly we would work with anyone who was willing to do that,’ Mr Giddings said.
“We’ve got heaps of space; we’ve got 1700 hectares of land ... and a lot of it is underdeveloped.
“There’s also good payroll tax concessions for operating in regional areas. We would be more than happy to work with the Qantas group.”
It comes as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews prepares to put a “very attractive” offer to Qantas, after the airline said it was looking to consolidate its offices which are spread across three states including Victoria, and potentially move its heavy maintenance from Brisbane.
Qantas Group chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson said the airline is also looking to move its flight simulators in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Like most airlines, the ongoing impact of COVID means we’ll be a much smaller company for a while. We’re looking right across the organisation for efficiencies, including our $40 million annual spend on leased office space,” Ms Hudson told News Corp.
“For instance, we could co-locate the Qantas and Jetstar head offices in a single place rather than splitting them across Sydney and Melbourne.”
Qantas is due to shop around to state governments for financial incentives to move its operations or remain where they are.
If heavy maintenance moved to Avalon it would follow Qantas pulling heavy maintenance, and about 600 jobs, out of the airport in 2014 after the service began in 1998.
Industry sources say the Qantas consolidation is likely to result in the airline’s heavy maintenance going offshore and Jetstar’s head office, part of the Qantas group, being relocated to Sydney from Melbourne.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the government would bid for the jobs on offer following a conversation with Qantas boss Alan Joyce on Monday night.
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“We will be having detailed discussions. The process they have announced is one that we welcome and we think we have a very attractive offer to make ... to try and have as many jobs as we can in our state,” Mr Andrews said.
“We have Avalon airport with enormous amounts of space, We have Melbourne airport; the largest curfew-free airport in the country.
“We have undeniable strengths when it comes to engineering and technical capacity, and a training system to be able to continue to push those people through.
“We’ve got very attractive offer to make and that will be made in due course.”
Qantas has flagged moving out of its Melbourne CBD office.
Originally published as Avalon Airport boss Justin Giddings says it has room for Qantas relocation