Saturday, 31 May 2014

International Visitor Arrivals Set New Record for Melbourne

White Night Melbourne
Strong international passenger growth at Melbourne Airport of 8.6% for the fiscal year to date (July 2013 – March 2014) was driven by international passport holders, up 9.6%, and Australian passport holders, up 7.6%

For the calendar year 2013, Melbourne Airport recorded more than 30 million passenger movements for the first time (both domestic and international). This was a 4 per cent increase on 2012. International passengers made up 7.4 million of those passengers (+7% increase on the previous year) while 23 million were domestic passengers. In contrast, for the same period Sydney's international passengers grew by 4.1% to 12.25 million while domestic passengers grew 1.9% to 25 million.

During this period, Melbourne Airport's international seat capacity increased by 705,890 which represents an increase of 7.4 per cent over the previous year. There are currently 24 international airlines that serve overseas destinations to and from Melbourne Airport.

Melbourne Airport provides a world class facility with competitive strengths including 24 hour, curfew-free facilities, single international and domestic terminal layout and passenger charges that are significantly lower than other major airports including Sydney and Brisbane. The airport is currently undertaking significant construction projects to provide capacity for continued growth, including a redevelopment of its forecourt, an extension to airport drive and (a now completed) runway overlay. In total Melbourne Airport will invest $1 billion into these works over the next five years.

New air services

Victoria continues to succeed in attracting international air services; recent achievements for new and increased international airline services include:
  • United Airlines – announced on 21 February 2014 that it will introduce 6 x weekly non-stop flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles from 26 October 2014. (United currently operates a 'tag' service to Melbourne from its Sydney-Los Angeles service, the new flight replaces this)
  • Qatar – announced it will increase seat capacity on its Melbourne- Doha route by 30% through an upgauge in aircraft to a B777-300ER.
  • Jetstar – announcedit willcommence a Melbourne – Tokyo three x weekly services from 29 April 2014; this will create the first direct flights between Victoria and Japan in more than five years. Jetstar also commenced a service between Melbourne and Osaka, via Cairns, from 30 March 2014.
  • Air Calin – announced on 20 December 2013, it will launch 2-3 weekly Melbourne - New Caledonia flights from 6 June 2014, becoming the State's 25th international airline.
  • Etihad Airways – commenced a B777-300ER on its Abu Dhabi – Melbourne flights on 1 December 2013 providing an additional 13,104 seats per year for the State.
  • Malaysia Airlines launched a third daily service Melbourne – Kuala Lumpur on 22 November 2013.
  • AirAsia X –increased to double daily services to Kuala Lumpur in October 2013.
  • Air India launched daily flights to Delhi on 30 August 2013. Of these, Melbourne will receive three direct non-stop inbound services each week. Another four services a week from Delhi will arrive into Melbourne via Sydney. Air India will use Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' aircraft for the service, the first international carrier to fly Dreamliner aircraft to Melbourne.
  • Singapore Airlines introduced a fourth daily Melbourne - Singapore service from July 2013.
  • Garuda Indonesia –increased services to 5 weekly Melbourne – Jakarta from May 2013
  • Sichuan Airlines - launched its inaugural flight to Australia on 28 February 2013. The airline operates between two to three flights per week between Melbourne and Chengdu.
  • Qantas commenced a new daily A380 service between Melbourne and Dubai in April 2013, following the decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to approve a five-year alliance between Qantas and Emirates Airline.
  • Royal Brunei Airlines has upgraded its daily Melbourne services to the new generation Dreamliner B787.

Corporate website: www.tourismvictoria.com.au
Consumer website: www.visitmelbourne.com

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