Brisbane Airport CEO looks to Airbus A321XLR and North America for growth

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | There’s a lot happening at Brisbane Airport. Between new routes and airlines, renovations of the existing terminals, plans for a brand new terminal and more, Brisbane Airport is setting itself up for long-term growth.

Steering the ship is Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO of Brisbane Airport. On a recent visit to the Queensland capital for the CAPA Airline Leader Summit, I catch up with the airport boss to see how things are shaping up in the river city.

The US and Canada are primed for growth from Brisbane Airport

One of the markets currently surging from Brisbane Airport is North America. Recent years have seen many changes to available routes and the airlines operating in between. But the growth of North American carriers at Brisbane Airport is substantial – outpacing Melbourne Airport on that front.

‘We will see a significant increase in North American flights in this northern winter, which is very, very exciting,’ shares de Graaff. ‘We’ve currently got Qantas operating to North America and United … with American Airlines to DFW’ launched in October.

While United has withdrawn its Brisbane-LAX flights, Delta Air Lines is stepping up and launching service in December. ‘We’ve got full houses, we call it here. So really, really excited about that significant increase in seats. The name of the game is to make sure that we’re selling tickets on both ends of the route.’

‘On top of that, we’ve got Air Canada operating to North America as well. (Combined,) we’re very well connected to their main hubs and through their hubs to potentially 200-250 destinations in North and South America, but also into Europe.’

But what advantage is there to having overseas-based carriers flying the routes, rather than only a homegrown option? ‘I think traditionally, the airlines are stronger in the home markets than there are in the markets they’re flying to. So that will definitely benefit us to sell (tickets) on American Airlines in North America.’

‘American Airlines has got a very impressive frequent flyer program as well. So hopefully, people will use this opportunity to use their points for flying. A lot of corporate travel is expected to bypass LAX and go directly into DFW and beyond. So now I think they’re pretty happy with sales on both sides. There’s a little bit of an extra incentive for Americans to visit us.’

USA-bound seats at 40% growth from Brisbane Airport since COVID

I take the chance to ask de Graaff whether the US carriers are helping to fill gaps left by other discontinued services or are bringing a new set of passengers to the skies as fresh growth for Brisbane Airport. ‘I think it’s a mix of both,’ he acknowledges.

‘We’re expecting about 40% more seats than we had prior to COVID. So that’s a very, very significant number in additional seats. I think to a certain degree that’s unmet demand that existed there prior to COVID, (and) a lot of beyond travel as well.’ That is, passengers flying to a North American hub to continue their journey beyond to another city.

‘For a lot of Americans, this is a very important destination on their bucket list. They’ve realised during the last few years when travel is difficult that you need to seize the opportunity when it’s there. So I think that that helps these airlines making the decisions to take the risk to start up into Brisbane.’

‘I think Brisbane has been developing over those years as well. The Brisbane you grew up in doesn’t exist anymore,’ de Graaff reflects, knowing that I’d spent most of my life living in Brisbane before relocating to Point Hacks’ Melbourne office. ‘The Brisbane that I left in 2012 when I went overseas, that doesn’t exist either.’

‘If you look especially at the CBD today, it’s a completely different cityscape … with hotels, with business activity. But also increasing residential associated with that, more restaurants (and) opportunities to go out than there were before. So I think Brisbane as a destination is so much more attractive than it was in the past, and that drives this traffic as well.’

The Airbus A321XLR brings more growth potential for Brisbane Airport

Closer to home, a new generation of aircraft will pave the way for even more growth in flights and capacity from Brisbane Airport. That’s the Airbus A321XLR – the manufacturer’s new long-haul narrowbody aircraft.

Already, a recent generation of the A321, the A321neo, helped Philippine Airlines launch direct Brisbane-Manila flights. Previously, these flights had to detour via Darwin to make them economical. And while the A321neo gets the job done on this particular route, the A321XLR will put Brisbane at an even greater advantage given its proximity to Asia.

‘You just hit it on the head,’ de Graaff says when I predict that the A321XLR will be big for Brisbane Airport. ‘There are certain markets that were operated in the past with widebodies, or (that were) not operated at all, that now could show profitability because of the narrowbody, long-range aircraft available.’

‘I think that’s really exciting news for Brisbane. It’s predominantly that part of Southeast Asia that we’re now able to connect to. (This) makes it attractive for airlines, (a) little bit less risk to start those operations. So I think those narrowbodies are going to play an important role in (linking us with) Southeast Asia.’

Even so, the A321XLR may not be a final destination in terms of aircraft type. Using the long-haul narrowbody jet ‘could be initially as a startup, and then (airlines) could decide to operate wide bodies when available, and when the market is there. But I think it’s going to be very important for us, that development.’

‘We love the new technology here in Brisbane. It seems that Airbus A350s, the Boeing 787s, they’re made for us. And now these narrowbody, long-range aircraft are fantastic as well.’

All eyes are on a new terminal: Terminal 3

With strong growth in passenger numbers flying through Brisbane Airport, upgrades are underway across both the domestic and international terminals. This includes relocating and upgrading the domestic and international security checkpoints. A range of new food and beverage outlets are coming, and a larger duty-free store is planned, among other things.

But the airport will reach a point where the existing terminals just won’t be enough. ‘We know that we have limited capacity in our current terminal buildings,’ de Graaff acknowledges, ‘and that’s approaching.’

‘We don’t have any capacity issues yet, but we are planning for a future expansion of terminal capacity. That’s most likely going to be a new Terminal 3. (This) will be located exactly in between (our) two runways. We opened the new runway in 2020, parallel to the existing runway. (It’s the) perfect location for a new terminal (with) short taxi times great for passenger experience as well.’

‘That new terminal will be designed and developed based on the latest insights in terms of technology, in terms of what the passenger actually requires. I (also) have a very strong focus on (how) people travel to and from that new terminal building.’

‘There are a lot of airports that get landside wrong. We’re going to make sure that getting to and from the terminal buildings is going to be a fabulous experience. That reduces stress levels, and for that reason to a large degree, (it influences) the passenger experience as well. That starts when passengers are leaving home and only ends when people are on board and enjoying the drinks when they’re departing from Brisbane Airport.’

‘It’s very exciting times for Brisbane Airport.’

Also read: Brisbane Airport plans International Terminal overhaul

Imagery courtesy of Brisbane Airport. Chris Chamberlin attended the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Brisbane as a guest of CAPA Centre for Aviation.

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