Tullamarine upgrade to be the envy of the country

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Keith009

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Tullamarine upgrade to be the envy of the country - National - theage.com.au

MELBOURNE'S lanes, the Bolte Bridge and Federation Square will be the inspiration for the biggest upgrade to Melbourne Airport's international terminal.


Melbourne Airport's new chief executive, Chris Woodruff, who will detail the $330 million expansion at tonight's annual general meeting, said the changes would ease congestion at the terminal, which is expected to be used by 8 million passengers a year by 2020, almost double current levels.

...
 
Interest to contrast to another thread on this board at the moment, about another privately owned airport. I guess the owners of MEL, have reasonable airport competition both within an hours flight and an hours drive.
 
One is a competent airport operator. The other is a land developer.
 
Is Avalon really a competitor to MEL? I know there are flights out of there but is there any likelihood that QF or DJ would switch all their flights to Avalon (AVV?) if AVV upgraded facilities?
 
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simongr said:
Is Avalon really a competitor to MEL? I know there are flights out of there but is there any likelihood that QF or DJ would switch all their flights to Avalon (AVV?) if AVV upgraded facilities?

No way. Avalon has no aerobridges, and could only really accomodate two or three (max.) commercial flights at once. It would require significant expansion and redevelopment of the airport (likely to cost much more than the $330M quoted for the redo of MEL). Another disadvantage is its distance from the city, whereby travel time can be anywhere from 40 - 80 minutes from the CBD.

I believe there are plans to build a full-service international terminal to accommodate AirAsia X and future international passenger airline flights.

http://www.avalonairport.com.au/pdf/Avalon_floorplan.pdf

Take a look for yourself, and see how small the place really is.
 
Brettmcg said:
No way. Avalon has no aerobridges, and could only really accomodate two or three (max.) commercial flights at once. It would require significant expansion and redevelopment of the airport (likely to cost much more than the $330M quoted for the redo of MEL). Another disadvantage is its distance from the city, whereby travel time can be anywhere from 40 - 80 minutes from the CBD.
Which is why it should perhaps be renamed Geelong Airport.
 
Two side observations:

The redesign will accommodate the arrival of the Airbus A380, with five new parking locations to be built with three dual-level aerobridges. Two baggage carousels compatible with the A380s will be installed.

Ok - the NEW design will have double decker aerobridges to accommodate the A380 - does that mean that it currently can not accommodate the A380? Does this scotch the plans for MEL-LAX as being an early starter for the A380?

Not sure why there would be a new F lounge as the new F lounge has just opened hasn't it?
 
NM said:
Which is why it should perhaps be renamed Geelong Airport.

Also, it is a well known fact that public transport to MEL is limited, and that which does exist is pretty average. However, transport services to AVV are even worse! In fact, you'll be lucky to get to AVV with anything besides a private vehicle! Apart from the dinky little shuttle bus capable of taking app. 10 people plus luggage, there is very little in the way of public transport services to AVV, and I certainly wouldn't want to pay the taxi fare from the CBD to AVV!
 
simongr said:
Ok - the NEW design will have double decker aerobridges to accommodate the A380 - does that mean that it currently can not accommodate the A380? Does this scotch the plans for MEL-LAX as being an early starter for the A380?

No. In fact, if you believe the Melbourne Airport website, MEL was Australia's first airport to have A380-capable dual aerobridges. You might want to check out this timeline:

Melbourne Airport - About the Airport - A380 Interactive Timeline
 
simongr said:
Ok - the NEW design will have double decker aerobridges to accommodate the A380 - does that mean that it currently can not accommodate the A380? Does this scotch the plans for MEL-LAX as being an early starter for the A380?

As i understand it some parking bays can take a A380 but will render the next door bay more or less useless as its to tight a spot to park a plane next to an A380, Also they will have 2 x double level air bridge for these parking bays. (proposed for new setup is 3 x double level)

So the current setup will work with A380, but the new setup willl just be better.

E
 
simongr said:
TOk - the NEW design will have double decker aerobridges to accommodate the A380 - does that mean that it currently can not accommodate the A380? Does this scotch the plans for MEL-LAX as being an early starter for the A380?
It is not essential to have dual level bridged to accommodate the A380. There are two issues with loading the upper deck, one being access by passengers and the other being access for catering. Passengers can board on lower deck and climb the stairs the same as is done with the 747. Having direct bridge access to the upper deck just means less congestion on the lower deck and hence more comfortable boarding for the upper deck passengers, which in QF's case will be business and premium economy class passengers.

Catering access to the upper deck will greatly reduce the turn-around time. If the airport does not have ground handling facility to reach the upper deck, then all the catering carts need to be moved between the upper and lower decks using the aircraft's built-in lift, which can add significantly to the time required.
 
Whilst this upgrade (on the international side), I'd suspect has more to do with other factors, and competition with SYD, I still believe AVV is a competitor with MEL, particularly in the LCC market sector. It is only about 30km further from the centre of Melbourne than MEL and by global standards a lot closer than many secondary airports. Just because the frequent flyers on this board don't want to fly out of AVV (me included), the travelling public consists of more than just AFF members, and I am sure the average LCC consumer isn't that concerned about the extra half hour or so.

Obviously DJ & QF are not going to relocate their operations to AVV. However, I am sure Tiger used the presence of AVV in negotiations to reduce the price they paid for access to MEL, and as we see international LCC carriers emerge they too will be doing their sums between the two airports (although realising that there are capacity constraints on MEL being a primary airport).

AVV has 20 A320 services most days (10 in/ 10 out), whilst some of the support for these may have been generated by proximity to Geelong, I am sure MEL would have rathered that much of this capacity of 3,400 pax/day went to MEL.
 
dajop said:
Just because the frequent flyers on this board don't want to fly out of AVV (me included), the travelling public consists of more than just AFF members, and I am sure the average LCC consumer isn't that concerned about the extra half hour or so.

I understand that, and also accept that this may be another compromise passengers only willing to pay to fly on LCCs may have to make. Getting back to the original argument however, AVV is unlikely to ever have the capacity and facilities to be a major competitor for MEL business - even less so after the completion of the MEL redevelopment.

EDIT: To further illustrate my point you may wish to check out some photos of AVV posted on its Wikipedia site. The arrivals hall looks like a backyard shed than an airport. Avalon Airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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Brettmcg said:
Getting back to the original argument however, AVV is unlikely to ever have the capacity and facilities to be a major competitor for MEL business - even less so after the completion of the MEL redevelopment.

Have flown out of AVV (once), so know what the tin shed is like. But plenty of room to redevelop if there was a likelihood of a return on the outlay. It may not be a major competitor with MEL, and may not ever be likely to be a major competitor, but it is nevertheless a minor competitor and gives a certain amount of bargaining power to some airlines. If it wasn't there that bargaining power wouldn't be there. Competitors don't have to pose a major threat to capture some value that might have otherwise gone to the monopoly owner.
 
Yes, MEL has bridges for 380's as previously stated. They were the first to complete them back in the days when 380's were to be now flying, now that is another story with many pages on here..............................
 
dajop said:
I am sure the average LCC consumer isn't that concerned about the extra half hour or so.

However, I am sure that most px that have used AVV/Jetstar to save a few bucks have been seriously surprised when they work out how much extra it will cost to get into Melbourne.

Not only that, but the EXTREMELY stringent rules J* impose on their pax, and if only minutes late for the last flight out you are then up for another taxi ride to a hotel, accom costs, new ticket costs etc.

AVV is a waste of space/time/effort and creates confusion. When I arrive back into Mel (home) I always have a little chuckle at how small our airport is compared with others on an international scale.

An upgrade for MEL is a good thing, so long as it is not overcapitalised because we all know who will end up paying for it.... I can see another component being added to the "taxes and other charges" portion of the ticket/award... airport upgrade charge $x
 
dajop said:
Obviously DJ & QF are not going to relocate their operations to AVV. However, I am sure Tiger used the presence of AVV in negotiations to reduce the price they paid for access to MEL, and as we see international LCC carriers emerge they too will be doing their sums between the two airports (although realising that there are capacity constraints on MEL being a primary airport).

2 points / questions...

1) Wouldn't be suprised if DJ used AVV for their new ULTRA ULTRA LCC!

2) How busy is MEL anyway, everyone knows Syd slots are booked out and for sale at the price of an airline exec's first born.... but never heard much on Mel....? From a passenger perspective I've never had to wait more than 5 mins on the tarmac!! (Compared to the standard 25 minute drive at Syd!)
 
I'm beginning to feel like Yada Yada in his efforts to defend DJ, although the difference is personally am I not a big fan of AVV. If AVV were such a waste of space/time etc, no one would fly into or out of there (it's not as if there's no choice - MEL more than adequately serves all destinations that AVV serves).

wallacej said:
However, I am sure that most pax that have used AVV/Jetstar to save a few bucks have been seriously surprised when they work out how much extra it will cost to get into Melbourne.

I'd hazard a guess most inbound pax to AVV would be using hire cars or bus not taxi's so little difference there in cost. And for outbound (local) pax the parking savings are significant at AVV compared to MEL, unless using the LTCP at MEL (which still costs more & effectively removes a considerable portion of the time saving of reaching MEL).
 
pauly7 said:
2) How busy is MEL anyway, everyone knows Syd slots are booked out and for sale at the price of an airline exec's first born.... but never heard much on Mel....? From a passenger perspective I've never had to wait more than 5 mins on the tarmac!! (Compared to the standard 25 minute drive at Syd!)

Had a few non-weather related 15 min waits around morning & evening peaks (9am/6pm), but not frequently, so no problems with slot capacity. The restrictions from an intl perspective are International Traffic Rights, that I believe AVV (as a secondary airport) does not have, making it potentially an easier alternative for an LCC wanting to access the Melbourne market, than trying to lobby the Australian govt to give it traffic rights into MEL.
 
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