A new era dawns

It is clear by any measure that the daily Boeing 787 service will bring significant tourism and economic benefits to the state, as the airline develops Perth as a western hub for international flights.

When the service was announced in late 2016, business leaders such as Russell Gibbs and John Poynton were full of praise for the service, describing it as a great boost for the state.

They were joined by one of WA’s most successful sons, Sir Rod Eddington, who said the flight is “fantastic news for WA and a real opportunity and now it’s up to us to deliver the very best connectivity at the airport to take advantage.”

One of the major reasons for this is that it is a non-stop flight and passengers overwhelmingly want to fly non-stop.

‘Passengers overwhelmingly want to fly non-stop.’

This fact was not lost on Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan, who hailed the service as a “game-changer” for the tourism industry.

“Europe is such a critical source market for us, and the introduction of direct flights between London and Perth by Qantas is a game-changing moment for Australian tourism,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Business leaders praised the then State Premier Colin Barnett who, to clinch the service, invested $14 million to facilitate the fit-out of immigration, customs and border security facilities at Qantas’ domestic terminals to make it a “western hub”. The Federal Government also pitched in with a similar amount.

That western hub under one roof concept was critical for the seamless transition of intrastate passengers.

And Qantas says the flights are well supported which begs the question, why isn’t the airline buying more 787s now.

As Contrails argued last year Contrails does the airline really understand the Boeing 787 and its game changing potential?

The airline has just a paltry eight on order with Qantas management saying it has to prove [to the markets] the business case of point to point flying.

The next batch of four, from the 45 options and price rights will not be delivered till late 2019 according to Qantas executives.

But the Australian markets have already given it an enormous tick of approval with Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgrading its recommendation from neutral to buy solely on the economics (fuel savings) of the 787.

The Merrill Lynch report said that “the Dreamliner could make a material impact to International, which we see as a structurally difficult market for QAN.”

“We think the aircraft range should help QAN compete with hub airlines, and turnaround loss making routes like Melb/London and LA/New York.”

Qantas is a conservative company which is important in aviation but is it being too conservative?

The 787 is not new and Qantas has the advantage of all the other operators experience and route developments.

Other routes beg the 787 and its potential as Contrails has pointed out.

Adelaide-Los Angeles, Sydney–Seattle, Cairns–Los Angeles, Melbourne-San Francisco, Sydney to Chicago and the list goes on and on with Perth to Paris, Berlin and Rome all no brainers.

The 787, A350 and 777X are the future of long range commercial aviation and are total game changers and the market is convinced of the business case.

As Australian Aviation has said Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and his management team have done a superb job turning Qantas around and the 787 has arrived at the right time with the airline in great shape financially and importantly – culturally.

Staff are onboard, the markets are onboard and the 787’s credentials are top of class.

If Qantas executives can’t convince the markets of its true potential then there is something very wrong.