FLIGHT, 12 October 1961
57"
Australia's Domestic Airline Operations
BY STANLEY BROGDEN
HE IATA Annual Conference delegates meeting in Sydney
will find the Australian domestic operators recovering from
their first setback since the war. The Government-imposed
brake on the admittedly inflationary economy in 1960 nevertheless
had less effect on the airlines than on most businesses. The fallingoff in passenger-lift by both major domestic operators in the
financial year 1960-61 (the Australian financial year ends on June
30) was very small. TAA carried 1,044,233 passengers, compared
with the previous year's total of 1,080,527, and Ansett-ANA's total
was 993,426 instead of 1,003,310.
From what we hear of the fall-off in the USA and over the
Atlantic, our operators in Australia would seem to be in a fine
situation. Compared with the automobile and other production
industries, the airline industry has hardly been affected at all. The
main effect was felt in the January-June period, when the final check
on the economy made by credit restrictions in November last really
had a nationwide result. This has carried over into the current
financial year and the recovery is only now becoming apparent.
The Australian airline industry had, of course, been operating
under boom conditions in 1959-60—in that financial year the TAA
passenger lift went up by 24 per cent. The managements themselves
had not expected that bonanza to continue in 1960-61, even without
ihe drastic Government economic interventions in April and
November 1960. They knew that the great rise in traffic in 1959-60
was considerably caused by the introduction of new equipment
(Friendships, Viscount 800s and Electras) and of tourist seating.
The recession in the past year has had some curious effects.
For example, while TAA's passenger-miles total dropped 4 per cent
to510,977,732, Ansett-ANA's total went up 1 percent to470,352,172,
though Ansett-ANA's number of passenger bookings had dropped.
(All these figures are for Australian domestic operations and do not
include services to and within Papua-New Guinea, which began
during the financial year 1960-61.) In air freight, TAA showed an
increase of 3.7 per cent to 37,3O3,2851b although the fall-off in
business in the last six months was very great. Air express cargo
showed a spectacular rise of 40.5 per cent to 3,290,7971b.
Freight business has been maintained by the change in TAA
policy a year or two ago, and by the need for retailers and wholesalers to reduce stocks. Air freight is being used here as a means to
keep down inventories in such industries as clothing and home
goods. After trailing ANA and Ansett-ANA for many years in air
freight, TAA has now decided to go out after this business. TAA
now has three DC-3 and two DC-4 freighters on the Australian
mainland (three Bristol Freighters in Papua-New Guinea), is in
the midst of a big advertising campaign, and is experimenting
with basket-type containers as a sort of pallet system. In August
TAA opened a new DC-4 freighter service on weekends from
Brisbane through Mount Isa to Darwin. Results have been good
running north, but on the southbound run cargo has been hard to
find. TAA is now trying to secure loading from the growing
buffalo-meat industry in the Gulf of Carpentaria country—these
are wild buffalo shot in the bush.
Despite the use of specialized DC-3 and DC-4 freighters by both
major domestic operators, some 60 per cent to 70 per cent of all
air freight carried in this country is lifted by passenger aircraft.
T
Aviation
Traders' Carvair—with
which, says Stanley
Ansett-ANA "has been very impressed"
Brogden,
There will be no big development of the air freight industry from
the present annual total of about 65,000 short tons until rates are
reduced by around 25 per cent, and that awaits the arrival of new
and specialized equipment.
Ansett-ANA has been very impressed by the Carvair DC-4
development and Mr J. L. Watkins recently returned from England
full of surprise that the reconstruction has been so successful. There
can be no doubt that both the major domestic operators are seriously
considering this aircraft. It is not generally known that an Ansett
subsidiary in Hong Kong, an engineering firm, has rights for the
Carvair. Mr Ansett believes it would be possible for this firm to
convert DC-4s for both Ansett-ANA and TAA in Hong Kong, and
TAA has the Short Skyvan under consideration. This SBAC Exhibition
model illustrates the Astazou-powered Mk 2 project
to do so more cheaply than in England. The problem with the
Argosy is capital cost. As both operators are finding the ex-Pakistani Bristol Freighters a frank godsend in New Guinea (where they
are carrying motor cars and other freight into the mountain areas),
they must soon consider replacements for 1963 or 1964.
The manner in which the two operators disagree on their solutions to similar problems is always fascinating. A present example
is in the North, where both operators have a heavily subsidized
outback run in North Queensland and the remote region of the
Gulf of Carpentaria. TAA also has a network in the Channel
country where Queensland, NSW and South Australia meet.
These services are operated with DC-3s. They are heavily subsidized—the Department of Civil Aviation actually pays out
£500,000 a year in direct subsidies to operators for services north of
Capricorn. The DC-3 is the wrong equipment. Ansett-ANA has
decided to use a Friendship, which will be based at Cairns and also
used for a New Guinea run to secure utilization. TAA believes it
should offer greater frequency. It wants an aircraft of under
12,5001b so that it can be operated with one-man crew—something
rugged, high-wing (an outback necessity) and well-powered to cope
with hot weather take-offs. TAA has been very impressed by the
Short Skyvan, which is now being put through the system for
consideration.
The Australian airline system today is based on the two-operator
theory. Ansett-ANA and TAA are to be maintained as the competitive airlines on major, designated routes. These are largely the
trunk routes, on which the Department of Civil Aviation (through
the Co-ordinator, who is the DGCA, Mr D. G. Anderson) gives
its ruling. Hence the apparent lack of equipment competition, for
Ansett-ANA and TAA have almost the same fleets. (TAA has
three Electras, ten Viscount 700s, two Viscount 800s, nine Friendships, 18 DC-3s, and two DC-6Bs on charter from Ansett-ANA,
plus two DC-4 and three DC-3 freighters in Australia, and the
Bristol 170s in New Guinea. Ansett-ANA has three Electras, five
Viscount 800s, two 700s (plus three on charter from TAA), two
Friendships, two DC-6Bs, three Convair 440s, seven DC-3s, plus
three DC-4 and three DC-3 freighters, and the Bristol 170s in
New Guinea. The fleets of the Ansett subsidiary operators in
Australia and New Guinea are not included.)
A decision made in August and coming into operation on
October 15 has been for the compulsory splitting of business into
Darwin from Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide. Since 1947, TAA
has had this work and Mr Ansett has been urging a cut for years.
The Government has now decided to give him half the business right
off, though TAA still has the intermediate run up through the
(Concluded on page 580)