I’M CURRENTLY sailing on board Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, which is making her way to Eden.
The call will be Royal Caribbean’s first in Eden, and will mark the biggest cruise ship to ever visit the South Coast town.
The locals have not missed a trick either, with a pop-up ‘Taste of Eden’ festival set to be hosted on the day of Ovation’s arrival.
The festival will showcase local food, entertainment, and lifestyle, and in general, how cruise-positive a destination like Eden is – particularly following this week’s debut of the Port of Eden Stakeholder Group, which will dictate the local cruise strategy moving forward.
It is a good news story for Royal Caribbean too, which, like many other big ship lines, is now facing the prospect of new taxes from the federal government of the United States.
More from Eden in Travel Daily and Cruise Weekly next week.
THIS week might have marked the start of reporting season, but no one told Virgin Australia.
The presses stopped at TD on Tuesday when the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) proposed to authorise the long-awaited deal between Virgin and Qatar Airways.
The ACCC said it considers the cooperative conduct likely to result in public benefits and unlikely to result in any public detriment, proposing to allow the airlines to engage in cooperative conduct under an integrated alliance for five years.
“We consider that the proposed cooperative conduct would likely result in several public benefits, including providing enhanced products and services for air travellers, which would include increased choice of international flights, with additional connectivity, convenience and loyalty program benefits for consumers,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
Any new air services are still subject to final regulatory approvals by the ACCC and other government bodies, with the chief competition regulator now seeking feedback on the draft determination before it makes a final decision.
The news from the ACCC was the second time in just two hours Virgin had forced us to hit the breaking news button, with the airline announcing a codeshare agreement with Air India earlier that morning.
The new pact unlocked single ticket access to 16 cities in Australia and New Zealand for Air India passengers, who are now able to connect from Delhi to both Sydney and Melbourne on Virgin services to Adelaide, Ballina, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Launceston, Newcastle, Perth, and the Sunshine Coast, with Queenstown to be included, subject to regulatory approval.
It is unclear at present whether the agreement will apply for Australians travelling in the other direction.
Bookings for the new codeshare deal have already opened, with the first connected flights beginning earlier this week on Tuesday.
My colleague, TD Publisher Damian Francis, described the Air India codeshare as a big win for Virgin, in his Wednesday travelBulletin feature.
“While the impact of code sharing with an international airline that is a) relatively unknown to Australians and b) only has 17 flights per week to Australia (soon to be less when Mumbai-Melbourne shuts for the off-season) might seem small, the key is its leader and his long game.
“Twice daily into Sydney and Melbourne and daily into Brisbane is 35 flights per week on large aircraft like the Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 – that is a significant amount of opportunity for VA that could open up thanks to that codeshare.”
Of the ACCC news, Francis added: “if the equation for a compelling and successful Australian airline is strong global connections into a healthy domestic network, then VA seems to have built that with AI and QR, as well as its other partnerships with Air New Zealand, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, Singapore Airlines and more.”
The Bain Capital-owned airline may not have to file any fiscal results, but they certainly owned the news cycle this week.
Also in the news was Virgin partner Air New Zealand, which posted a set of results which, it is fair to say, are in the eye of the beholder.
Air NZ’s net profit after tax shrunk by close to 20%, to NZ$106 million, for the six months to 31 December 2024, when compared to the previous corresponding period.
Revenue also dipped slightly to NZ$3.4 billion, while earnings before tax also dropped away by 16% to NZ$155 million.
The figures may paint a challenging financial period for Air NZ, however the results were actually in the upper end of the last guidance provided by the airline in November 2024.
The financial report also showed that network capacity is down 4%, with up to five narrowbody and three widebody jets grounded due to additional global engine maintenance requirements.
“With over NZ$1 billion worth of our newest, most efficient aircraft grounded at times, it’s been a tough year so far,” Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran conceded.
“Delivering the performance we have and maintaining such a strong balance sheet, is a real credit to our people and I’m proud of what we have achieved.”
Air NZ also announced the commencement of a share buy-back scheme of up to NZ$100 million, a move the carrier said reflected confidence in the company’s long-term outlook.
Whether the results are the start of a longer-term trend for Air NZ, or just the natural ups and downs of running an airline, remains to be seen.
Also posting mixed results this week was Corporate Travel Management (CTM), which highlighted a number of green shoots in its financials, among otherwise serious headwinds.
Revenue, net profit after tax, and underlying EBITDA in the six months to 31 December 2024 all fell short of CTM’s previous corresponding period.
Revenue dipped by 6% to $342.8 million, EBITDA dropped by 23% to $77.4 million, while statutory net profit after tax attributable to owners also decreased by 42% to $28.5 million.
CTM’s Australia business performed better fortunately, with revenue of $96.1 million and underlying EBITDA of $28.5 million, up 18% and 53% on the same period last year respectively, driven by new client wins and returning customers.
Another positive note was CTM retaining 97% of existing clients during the first half of the year, and recording new client wins with an estimated annualised total transaction value of $600 million at 31 December 2024.
The new client win total had surpassed $880 million, as of 14 February 2025.
“Our largest regions of North America and Australia & New Zealand are leading the way, and Europe is now set up for a strong finish to the year as we onboard new corporate clients,” Managing Director Jamie Pherous said.
Certainly not suffering on the results front was Etihad Airways, which reported its largest-ever profit this week, amid the expansion of its network.
Etihad’s full-year profit of AED1.7 billion (A$723 million) for last year marked the airline’s third consecutive year of positive financial performance, which it largely attributed to strong passenger demand and operational efficiencies across its expanded network.
This week also saw a landmark in Australia’s cruise industry, with two Azamara ships reuniting in Sydney for the first-ever time.
Azamara Onward led the way, docking in White Bay, followed by Azamara Pursuit, which treated guests and onlookers to a 360-degree twirl.
The cruise line cordially invited me to join it and its other travel partners on board Pursuit on Wednesday evening for a cocktail party to celebrate the occasion and experience a slice of Azamara hospitality – thank you very much for having me, guys!
Although the news cycle is hard to predict, we know next week will bring us results from Qantas Airways, among others – how those results read though, will be anyone’s guess. We’ll see you back here next Saturday to discuss.
