Melbourne Avalon Airport: AirAsia X to spike new growth phase

Melbourne Avalon Airport has offered airlines, particularly LCCs, an alternative option to Melbourne Tullamarine since it was privatised two decades ago. However Avalon has, until now, struggled to carve out a significant role in the Australian market.

In Feb-2018 Avalon secured the breakthrough it had been seeking for several years by gaining AirAsia X as its first international airline. AirAsia X will move its two daily Melbourne flights from Tullamarine to Avalon later this year, as soon as Avalon completes construction of a new international terminal.

Avalon's traffic could double in 2019, driven mainly by the new flights from AirAsia X, as well as potential domestic expansion. Jetstar is Avalon's only domestic airline, but high load factors on Jetstar's 49 weekly departures from Avalon indicate that the airport is underserved, and could support more services from Jetstar or other Australian airlines.