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airtravel booming http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/21/1090089217888.html

Confidence climbs in air travel
By Sasha Shtargot, Philip Hopkins
July 22, 2004

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Melbourne Airport handles more than 440 arrivals and departures each day.
Picture:Nic Kocher

A record number of passengers used Melbourne Airport last financial year as confidence returned to international and domestic airline travel.

More than 19 million people arrived at or departed from Melbourne Airport in 2003-04, the highest number since the airport opened in July 1970.

The figure was up 13 per cent on the previous year and beat the previous best, achieved during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

International passenger numbers at Melbourne jumped 15 per cent to 3.7 million, while domestic traffic, up 13 per cent, exceeded 15 million travellers for the first time.

Melbourne Airport spokeswoman Brooke Lord said confidence in international travel, battered by the outbreak of SARS, the war in Iraq and the Bali bombings, had recovered strongly.

She said the introduction of new direct overseas flights to and from Melbourne had increased airport traffic.

Qantas, Emirates, Malaysian and Singapore airlines have all increased Melbourne international services in the past year.

Ms Lord said the fierce competition between Qantas and Virgin Blue and the introduction of Jetstar had led to a steady increase in the number of domestic airline passengers.

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"The additional competition from Jetstar is further driving down prices and stimulating travel," she said.

Melbourne Airport has 23 international and five domestic airlines offering more than 440 flights a day, 160 of which are on the two low-cost carriers.

Sydney Airport announced earlier this week that its full-year passenger traffic had increased by 10.4 per cent to 26.4 million.

Melbourne Airport's figures were a fillip for Australian Infrastructure Fund, one of its shareholders. AIF is also a shareholder in Perth Airport and in the Darwin and Alice Springs airports.

AIF reported yesterday that its airports had increased passenger numbers by 18 per cent in the June quarter. At Melbourne, passenger volumes rose by 20.2 per cent to 4.8 million, while Perth was up 17.6 per cent and the Northern Territory 16.3 per cent.

Growth in international passenger numbers was particularly strong - 42.8 per cent at Melbourne (934,000), 29.8 per cent at Perth and 33 per cent at Darwin.

AIF's portfolio, which is dominated by airports, also includes roads, light rail and ports. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at Perth Airport rose by 74 per cent in the June quarter compared with the same period last year.

AIF chief executive Mitch King said the performance of the Port of Portland had improved significantly due to a bumper grain crop. Port volumes were up 21.2 per cent in the quarter and revenue was up 34.5 per cent, he said.

•Elsewhere, Red Spot Rentals has announced it has applied for a licence to trade as a car rental company at Melbourne Airport.

Red Spot, the fifth-largest car rental company in Australia, also announced this week that it had secured an "on-airport" licence to operate at Cairns. It already operates out of Sydney Airport as well as other locations around Australia.