Paul Phelan/CAIRNS
Australia's relaunched Impulse Airlines and start-up carrier Virgin Blue say they will seek to raise Australian equity investment as they jostle for position in a confused Australian domestic market.
Officially launching Virgin Blue on 9 July, Sir Richard Branson said the new cut-price carrier will start flying on 3 August, with seven daily return services between its Brisbane base and Sydney. A Brisbane-Melbourne link will be established soon after, but the high-density Sydney-Melbourne route, on which Impulse is already operating, is not an option for Virgin at this stage.
Branson says services to Adelaide, Hobart and Cairns are under consideration. The carrier says it will list on the stock exchange after "about three or four years".
Virgin's start date hinges on the issue of an air operator's certificate, which is still being processed by the regulator.
Meanwhile, Gerry McGowan, Impulse managing director, expects a new Australian investor to inject another A$20 million ($34 million) of convertible equity within two weeks, saying the company is still eating into start-up capital, but that this was "part of the plan".
A lively fare battle between start-ups and incumbents is being led by an unconditional Virgin fare of A$99 on 90min Brisbane-Sydney services, undermining Impulse's $149 fare on the slightly shorter (80min) Sydney-Melbourne route.
Qantas and Ansett have responded with a range of cheap but conditional fares, and a fifth carrier, Melbourne-based start-up Spirit Airlines, has announced it will launch services on some major routes by the end of the year.
Source: Flight International
