lot hoarding categorically does not exist in Australia, according to Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) Chief Executive Officer, Emma Wilson.
Speaking on a panel at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Cairns on Fri, Wilson laughed off suggestions that slot hoarding is a scourge in the Australian aviation industry, comparing the claims to that of the tooth fairy existing.
“It has been an area of interest for the public which I don’t think anyone thought would be,” Wilson claimed.
“When [people] ask me about [slot hoarding], I say it is about as real as the tooth fairy.”
Wilson stated that A4ANZ was about “evidence-based policy”, which is “fully backed up by last year’s audit of the slot use at Sydney Airport”.
She said that “there was absolutely no evidence of slot hoarding at Sydney Airport” and that non-utilisation of slots is almost back to pre-COVID levels with performance improving.
A4ANZ is a member-funded industry group established in 2017 to represent local airlines – its members include Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and Rex.
Her comments come after slot hoarding took up plenty of mainstream news real estate last year, with smaller airlines in particular looking for slot management reform in order to enable better services into and out of major hubs, namely the country’s largest hub in Sydney.
In 2021, the government-ordered Harris Review suggested that reforms were needed.
Part of the changes have seen ACL appointed as a neutral third party to make slot capacity decisions, having previously been determined by an entity controlled by Qantas and VA.
Wilson said that A4ANZ was generally supportive of the various reforms, including the Harris Review recommendations, and suggested that “aligning as much as we can with worldwide airport slot guidelines is critically important” in Australia.
However, Wilson’s assertion that slot hoarding is a nonexistent problem at Sydney Airport is at odds with various testimonies given during Senate Inquiries into the aviation industry in 2023.
This included former CEO of the now defunct Bonza brand, Tim Jordan, who said he was told not to bother requesting a slot at Sydney Airport because it would not be granted (TD 29 Sep 2023).
While the controversial 80/20 rule remains in place – allowing players like QF and VA to retain slots so long as they operate at least 80% – laws passed last year have brought in misuse penalties of $99,000 per offence.
