Qantas dominates Sydney Airport slots with 36pc in new disclosure; slot utilisation improves

Sydney Airport’s new slot coordinator has revealed how it carved up access to Australia’s biggest gateway for the busy summer months — with some airlines better off than others.

Qantas’ crown as the number one airline flying in and out of Sydney Airport will be preserved under the first carve-up of lucrative airline access to Australia’s biggest gateway.

The UK company now controlling Sydney Airport’s slots granted Qantas 36 per cent of all availability in its first seasonal allocation for the period from October 26 to March 31.

Slots are the time windows allocated to airlines for landing and takeoff at Sydney Airport, which is restricted by a 11pm to 6am curfew and 80 movements an hour cap at other times.

ACL Asia Pacific took over slot management in Sydney in April after Transport Minister Catherine King vowed to reform the system to give new airlines greater access to Kingsford Smith.

ACL on Monday revealed Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia led the airlines scrambling for more access.

Qantas has won the lion’s share of Sydney Airport slots ahead of the busy summer period, with almost double that of rival Virgin Australia. Picture: David Gray/AFP

Virgin Australia was awarded 19 per cent and Jetstar 16 per cent, which satisfied each of the carriers’ needs.

At the same time Rex saw its allocation fall to 8 per cent, due to the regional airline’s withdrawal from major city routes in July 2024.

Of the international carriers, those with the greatest appetite for increased frequency were Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Etihad, new entrant Hong Kong Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Garuda.

ACL Asia Pacific co-ordination manager Darren Batty who spent 24 years at Qantas in a variety of roles, said overall slot utilisation at Sydney was up 3.1 per cent on historic levels, and total seat numbers were up 5.4 per cent.

The introduction of a coordinator followed accusations of “slot hoarding” by Qantas and Virgin Australia — maintaining more slots than they needed in order to shut competitors out.

Both airline groups denied any wrongdoing, insisting all slots were being used in compliance with the 80-20 rule, which was supported by an independent audit. The 80-20 rule means airlines have to fulfil 80 per cent of their allotted services or lose them, with a 20 per cent allowance for extrinsic factors like weather and mechanical problems.

However, Mr Batty said there was still plenty of capacity at Kingsford Smith outside of peak periods.

“Certainly it’s positive to see that growth in numbers, and we’ve been able to fulfil 93 per cent of requests and 99.6 per cent within an hour (of the requested time),” Mr Batty said.

He said it was too early to say if slot hoarding was occurring at Sydney Airport, but it was something ACL was monitoring.

“We’re looking at things such as on-time performance and cancellations; airlines not handing back slots; instances of an aircraft being used in a particular slot that is different to what was requested — those sort of things,” Mr Batty said.

“It’s early days for us, and until we’re seeing trends year-on-year and observing airline behaviour it’s difficult to comment.”

Asked whether the 80-20 rule gave airlines too much opportunity to “game the system”, Mr Batty said it was a globally recognised standard and unlikely to change.

“I think it’s sensible,” he said. “It is very much a ‘use it or lose it’ system.”

Well-managed slots meant greater competition, he added, which typically translated to more choice for travellers and potentially lower airfares.

“It’s also really important from an operational perspective because airlines that aren’t operating on time are at risk of losing their slots,” said Mr Batty.

Originally published as Qantas dominates Sydney Airport slots with 36pc in new disclosure; slot utilisation improves