The Melbourne Airport air services team will be highlighting the destination's collaborative approach at this year’s World Routes, according to its executive general manager, corporate & aeronautical development.
Nathan Agnew said the collaborative approach to air service and tourism development was going from strength to strength in the destination. This, he said, includes the airport, the city and state tourism marketing bodies, state government and the Crown Limited, which owns and operates Melbourne’s largest casino complex.
“We will fundamentally be selling Melbourne as a destination, rather than Melbourne Airport,” Agnew told The HUB prior to flying across to Las Vegas for the event. “The breadth and depth of what you can do in Melbourne means that it is a really good destination to sell. We will also be putting the spotlight onto how the airport can help a new airline coming here – landing fees are lower than our direct Australian competition; we don’t have a curfew which means for many Asian airline the optimal timing is to leave Melbourne late at night and both our domestic and international terminals are under one roof, which makes transits more convenient.”
Agnew added the air service team has put increasing focus on working with existing airlines to ensure services remain successful. “Once the airline commits it is only the beginning. Our focus is on keeping the current customer base as much as attracting new service,” he said. Agnew added one of the most significant recent airline wins for the airport was Chengdu-based Sichuan Airlines, which launched Melbourne services in February as its second international destination after Vancouver.
“As long-haul is a relatively new part of their business, we have worked closely with them to get their brand name into the Melbourne market," he said. These efforts, said Agnew, has seen the airline being promoted via outdoor billboards at the airport site; via its monthly consumer newsletters; and events such as the Australian China Business Council.
You can now see our exclusive World Routes video interview with Nathan Agnew, Executive General Manager Corporate & Aeronutical Development, Melbourne Airport, below.
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