News about aviation

Western Sydney International, a A$5.6 billion airport about 50 km from the city centre, welcomed its first passenger flight on Sunday (18 October), a Jetstar service to Gold Coast, but its commercial outlook is in question. Cirium data show it has attracted only a few airlines and is expected to host at most about 6 scheduled flights a day over the next 12 months, as the Iran conflict pushes up fuel costs and many carriers, including Qantas, cut domestic routes. The rail link is not expected until 2027 at the earliest, while a bus to central Sydney costs A$55 and takes about an hour, compared with a 20-minute taxi or train ride from Sydney Kingsford Smith airport. University of Sydney transport professor David Levinson believes forecasts of 8.4 million passengers a year by the end of the decade are optimistic. The airport's advantage is that it is not subject to a night curfew, and it aims to serve 82 million passengers a year by 2063.

Airline executives told the Financial Times that fuel prices surging after the Iran war could become the new normal, forcing carriers to keep raising fares and possibly scale back growth plans or cut fleets. TAP Air Portugal's CEO Luís Rodrigues expects three to five difficult years because pricing power is limited. So far demand holds up: OAG estimates 2.3 billion bookings in the first half, up 1% year on year, even as fares rose. Executives worry that fuel-driven inflation will erode household purchasing power, and many carriers plan further fare hikes as fuel hedges expire. Abra's CEO Adrian Neuhauser said the industry could end up smaller than it otherwise would, while SunExpress's Marcus Schnabel said AI is 'not free' and must compete with aircraft purchases for capital.