The other day I stumbled across a QF Magazine from mid-2005. Looking at the International map at the back and comparing it to a late 2012 map was eye-opening to say the least. So many red lines have been wiped off the map, including NZ Domestic, Perth to Jakarta/Hong Kong/Tokyo, Mumbai and the Australian Airlines CNS hub.
The only additions made have been SCL and DFW.
With rumours of JNB (a monopoly route :shock
being cut and potentially LHR down to just QF1, how many more routes can QF cut before it (and therefore QFF) becomes irrelevant?
Compare this to Air NZ who have maintained a niche in the Pacific Islands, monopoly NZ-US market, solid Asian partnerships (SQ and CX) and the prestige tag flight to LHR. They also have their fleet planning in order (773, refurbs to 772, retire 747/767, 789's arriving) and all to/from a domestic market of only 4 million! I realise there has been cost cutting on domestic/trans tasman product and Airpoints, but which airline is in a better position for the next 5-10 years?
The only additions made have been SCL and DFW.
With rumours of JNB (a monopoly route :shock
being cut and potentially LHR down to just QF1, how many more routes can QF cut before it (and therefore QFF) becomes irrelevant? Compare this to Air NZ who have maintained a niche in the Pacific Islands, monopoly NZ-US market, solid Asian partnerships (SQ and CX) and the prestige tag flight to LHR. They also have their fleet planning in order (773, refurbs to 772, retire 747/767, 789's arriving) and all to/from a domestic market of only 4 million! I realise there has been cost cutting on domestic/trans tasman product and Airpoints, but which airline is in a better position for the next 5-10 years?
