Sydney Airport - Traffic Performance January 2015

"Chinese and UK nationality growth was lower than the pcp due to the cycling of Chinese New Year, which is occurring in February this year, and the Ashes tour in January 2014. This year we are pleased to welcome cricket fans to the airport as they travel for the ICC Cricket World Cup which began in February.

"Chinese New Year, celebrating the year of the goat, occurs in late February this year and we are proud to be sponsoring the City of Sydney Chinese New Year Festival which is expected to attract more than 600,000 visitors. The increase in Chinese passengers travelling for the Lunar New Year comes after the Australian and Chinese governments increased capacity in the bilateral air services agreement. The landmark agreement is a major boost to attracting more Chinese visitors. The increase will almost triple available capacity and importantly create extra capacity for new direct services from regional Chinese cities. This represents the next stage of development of the Chinese market and a significant opportunity for Sydney Airport. We are already actively in discussions with airlines considering adding new services to Sydney. Some of our largest unserved markets are outside of the primary hubs of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and our strategy is to attract more visitors from these cities. Based on current growth rates (+16.4% in 2014), China is on track to overtake New Zealand as our largest inbound market in 2016 and this agreement will enable airlines to cater for the market's consistently strong growth.

"Qantas has announced it is increasing its popular peak holiday Vancouver service to 33 a year. We will also welcome a new airline and a new route when Solomon Airlines launches its Sydney to Honiara service in June.

"The domestic market continues to see capacity discipline as airlines focused on yield. Domestic passengers declined 1.7% in January."

Key Points

• Qantas will increase the number of Sydney to Vancouver services during seasonal peak periods to 33, providing an extra 24,000 seats annually.
• Solomon Airlines will start operating a new Honiara to Sydney service using an Airbus A320 in June providing an extra 14,000 seats annually.
• Australian and Chinese agreement on bilateral air services, immediately increases capacity from 22,500 seats per week to 26,500 seats per week between Chinese and Australian Major Gateways. A new category has been created between Australian Major Gateways and regional Chinese cities with a further 26,500 seats capacity. Both capacity categories will grow to 33,500 by October 2016, providing 67,000 seats per week accessible from Australian Major Gateways.
• Philippine Airlines will upgauge aircraft on its Manila service in April from an A340-300 with 254 seats to an A330-300 with 368 seats and reduce its services from seven to five weekly. This results in an increase of seat capacity on the route by 6,500 seats annually.
• Total passenger traffic for January is estimated to have decreased 0.5 % on the pcp, with domestic traffic estimated to have declined 1.7% on the pcp and international traffic increasing 1.4% on the pcp.

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