ACT in Singapore Airlines talks as part of its push to woo international airlines ~ Marina Bay Sands

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ACT News
Travel News

Date

November 22, 2013

Comments 16

Peter Jean

Chief Assembly reporter for The Canberra Times.

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Singapore Airlines Photo: Quentin Jones

The ACT region has a large untapped market for direct flights between Canberra and Singapore, the ACT government has told Singapore’s national airline.

Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Canberra Airport Group chief Stephen Byron met senior Singapore Airlines executives in Singapore earlier this month as part of their ongoing attempts to lure international flights to the ACT.

Mr Barr and Mr Byron also met senior Singapore government minister Josephine Teo to discuss the issue. Singapore Airlines is government-owed. Mr Barr said research indicated there would be enough passenger demand to justify using planes which could carry more than 230 passengers.

“Our estimation of demand between Canberra and Singapore is for a plane with at least 30-odd business class seats and over 200 economy for a single flight a day,” he said.

Several thousand passengers per week catch domestic flights from Canberra Airport to board overseas-bound aircraft. A similar number of passengers coming to Australia from overseas are forced to change planes in other Australian cities.

“There’s about 7000 a week who come into and out of the ACT and more than half of them are hubbing through Singapore,” Mr Barr said.

An unknown number of Canberra passengers drive or catch buses or trains to Sydney or Melbourne to catch international flights.

Mr Barr said a full-service airline would probably be more suited to the Canberra-Singapore route than a discount carrier.

“A full service airline like Singapore is a better fit for the Canberra market [but Singapore Airlines] are not the only airline we’re talking to,” Mr Barr said.

“So we continue our engagement with Qantas and also with their alliance partner Emirates. So those negotiations continue.”

The ACT government has promised to make tourism marketing funds available for the first airline that starts regular international flights into and out of Canberra.

Mr Barr said he and Mr Byron had explained to the Singapore Airlines executives that the airport had a much larger catchment area than the ACT itself.

“It’s the closest airport for 2½ hours around the ACT,” he said.

“That doubled the catchment from the 400,000 inside the territory to closer to 800,000.

”So that changes the metrics on passenger volume and the like.”

Ron Bishop, a senior lecturer in aviation at Central Queensland University said the ACT region’s population and Canberra’s status as the capital should make the proposed Singapore route viable.

Mr Bishop said international business travellers flying directly into Canberra would be more likely to stay overnight in the capital than those who had transited through Sydney or other Australian cities.

“If it’s straight shot to Canberra that would bring a lot more people that need taxis, that need to go hotels” he said.

“Before they might have gone to Sydney, shoot over to Canberra to do their business and then go back to Sydney that night, or not stay in Canberra as long.”

Canberra Business Council president Michelle Melbourne, who accompanied Mr Barr on the Singapore leg of his trip, said direct international flights would boost export opportunities for the Canberra region, including winemakers and seafood businesses on the coast.

“You can imagine the backloads we can put on those planes which will help grow our economy here,” Ms Melbourne said.

16 comments so far

How often we have wished to fly directly to Asia from Canberra. Singapore would be brilliant, a terrific outcome. We would fly internationally much more often if we could bypass the current requirement of flying out of Syd/Mel. Singapore Airlines would ace. Fingers crossed for this one!

Commenter
Pete

Location

Canberra

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 7:31AM

Anything to put pressure on the current situation has to be a plus. Trying to ensure that one can get from here to Sydney on time to link with international flights is a nightmare. Qantas cancel commuter flights with gay abandon and have no regard for travellers at all. Trust me I have been through it this year. A professional carrier such as Singapore airlines and no need to rely on Qantas would be a god send.

Commenter
Irene

Location

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 8:28AM

I never realised that Singapore Airlines was “government owed”.!

Commenter
spacetracker

Location

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 8:38AM
- That’s why they are so good. Qantas was better when it was Government owned.
  
  Commenter
  amro
  
  Location
  
  Date and time
  
  November 22, 2013, 9:47AM
- and what also makes it so amusing when they call for the cap on foreign ownership in Qantas to be lifted…
  
  Commenter
  FD
  
  Location
  
  Singapore
  
  Date and time
  
  November 22, 2013, 12:27PM

I would like to see a trial of this but am far from convinced that this is a viable business decision; more like anothe example of Canberra Airport’s building it and they will come marketting strategy.

What about a story on all the vacent office space around the airport and who is meeting the cost of the power bills?

Commenter
Outraged of Palmerston

Location

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 10:06AM

Wow, bigger and possibly noisier air planes coming and going, under that flight path would be perfect for a new Canberra International Dragway.

Commenter
JUST KEEPING CID NAME OUT THERE

Location

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 10:39AM

WHEN?
How soon can this be? (Next timetables due in March?) What about direct to Auckland and Wellington?
However, in order for the Canberra catchment to increase to 800,000, Canberra needs direct, convenient regional connections (Cooma.Wagga, Albury, Moruya, Dubbo etc.) where’s Rex or Cinderalla airlines connections when we need them?
International flights for Canberra – Long awaited, long overdue – make it so!
(Spacetracker – last time I looked, Singapore Airlines is majority owned by Temasek Holdings, the Singapore Government’s “Future Fund”)

Commenter
Glen

Location

CBR

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 10:46AM

AWESOME

Commenter
FD

Location

Singapore

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 11:01AM

I can’t believe how long it’s taking to get an airline like Singapore to sign up to international flights in/out of Canberra! Not only have we got 800,000 people in the airport catchment, but considering the high socio-economic base of that population and all the government air travel, it would seem a no-brainer! The current situation is not ideal, with (sometimes) unreliable connections to international flights…also, at least half the people I know travel by car or bus to catch flights from Sydney…surely the airlines have data on where their passengers are from?. I reckon if anyone did some data-mining they’d soon realise the huge number of Canberrans making international flights every year. Just about every single person I know in Canberra does at least one international flight a year, and would love to not have to go via Sydney. Some I know do many international flights a year.
So come on Singapore Airlines! (or someone else)…it’s a no-brainer!
Or is there some sort of commercial arrangement with the owners of Sydney Airport at play here? (just a thought….)
Waiting…waiting…waiting….(with fingers crossed)

Commenter
Frustratedflyer

Location

Canberra

Date and time

November 22, 2013, 11:07AM