Melbourne

It’s about as far as you can fly from the UK, says Colin Ellson, but there’s no shortage of options on the Kangaroo route

AS PROUD as they are of their country, Australians can be ambivalent about it. Shortly after he split up with fellow actor Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe explained that the desire to return to his ranch Down Under had proved too strong to keep him in Los Angeles with her. Conversely, writer, actor and comic Barry Humphries once said: “To live in Australia permanently is rather like going to a party and dancing all night with your mother.” For the UK executive doing business on the continent, it’s best to keep out of controversy, according to Richard D. Lewis, author of When Cultures Collide.

“Australians ...love criticising themselves but take very poorly to being criticised,” he writes. “This makes it difficult for you ... because you will find yourself in the middle of torrid condemnation of Australia or Australians, but should you agree too enthusiastically, or even mildly, you run the risk of being dubbed a whinger.”

Heeding this advice, steering a middle course, but feeling free to say your piece in business negotiations, could pay rich dividends. Trade has always been an important part of the UK-Australia relationship and the ties continue with Australia’s fifth-largest source of imports, which in 2005/6 were worth £6billion, mainly pharmaceuticals.

There is significantly more potential, says UK Trade & Investment, which has identified opportunities in science, financial services, mining and minerals, oil and gas, IT, biotechnology, agribusiness, energy and the environment.
New Zealand is a far smaller market for UK plc, taking goods and services worth £364 million in 2007, with the top five exports from the automotive, pharmaceutical and power- generating sectors. The Kiwis are, however, more like the British, conservative, placid and reserved, which makes them less excitable to deal with than their Antipodean cousins. Again, the chances of selling much more to a nation on the far side of the world are excellent. Pay attention if your company is in the agriculture, automotive, biotechnology, education, healthcare, IT, marine or publishing sectors.

For the travel buyer, finding the right route to Australia at the right price is a question of research, research, research. And consider business class: the flight time to Australia is 23 hours, to New Zealand 27, and duty of care suggests staff arrive as fresh as possible after such marathons.

For their part, the airlines strive to make the going as easy as they can, many upgrading facilities. Air New Zealand, for example, is introducing its Airline Concierge service this summer. An industry first, this comprises 90 staff ,whose duties  include escorting passengers to and from the aircraft, assisting them with onward bookings, and supporting those whose flights are delayed.

Literally the biggest news this year, however, is the gradual introduction of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo, offering more space and comfort. Singapore Airlines unveiled the aircraft last October and is to increase frequencies between London and Singapore from daily to 11 flights a week on July 16.

Emirates, the biggest customer for the world’s largest passenger aircraft, with 58 orders, says it will operate the A380 from Dubai to the furthest points on its network, with 14 seats in first class, 76 in business, and 399 in economy. Flights to Heathrow are due to begin on December 1, and to Sydney and Auckland on February 1, 2009.

Deliveries of the super-jumbo to Qantas are scheduled to begin this summer, with its first routes still to be determined. The aircraft will have 14 seats in first class, 72 in business, 332 in economy, and 32 in its new premium economy, which entered service on Boeing 747s between Sydney and Hong Kong in March.

The surprise is that Singapore Airlines introduced an all-business class, 100-seat service between Singapore and New York in mid-May, flying in the face of the demise of similar operations by Mixed, Eos and Silverjet.

Time will tell whether this brave move will succeed and be extended to other routes. In the interim, your staff setting off on the long haul Down Under are assured of a fair dinkum choice, offered by some 30 airlines flying from the UK via their Asian hubs.       

Adelaide, Australia
Manufacturing, defence technology and research, and service industries form the foundations of Adelaide’s economy. Around half of the cars produced in Australia are made in the capital of South Australia, and the growing electronics industry sells systems worldwide. The country’s largest oil company, Santos, is based here, and the global media conglomerate News Corporation had its headquarters in Adelaide until 2004; Rupert Murdoch still considers the city his company’s spiritual home.
Daily connections to Adelaide are provided by Singapore Airlines from its home base, Qantas from Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong.  Malaysia Airlines has four flights a week from Kuala Lumpur, three of which are onward code-share operations with KLM’s services from Amsterdam Schiphol.

Brisbane, Australia
One of Australia’s main business hubs, the capital of Queensland is a mix of white- and blue-collar industries: IT, biotechnology, financial services, higher education and public sector administration on one hand, petroleum refining, paper milling, metalworking and railway workshops on the other.  Tourism is also an important part of the economy, with Brisbane the gateway to the Gold Coast.

Brisbane is reached daily from Heathrow via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, via Tokyo with Japan Airlines, and via Bangkok with Thai Airways, and three times a day with Singapore Airlines through Singapore. In addition, British Airways code-shares on flights with Cathay and Qantas from their Asian gateways, and Eva Air flies thrice-weekly from Taipei, which is also the departure point for China Airlines’ operations to the Gold Coast. Other options include Malaysia Airlines/KLM from Kuala Lumpur, Korean Airlines from Seoul, Royal Brunei from Brunei, low-cost Air Asia X from Kuala Lumpur, Emirates from Dubai, and Etihad from Abu Dhabi.

Cairns, Australia
The major commercial centre for North Queensland, Cairns is the base for the regional offices of many government departments. And with its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef, the city is the fourth most popular destination for international tourists in Australia.

Cathay Pacific flies from Heathrow to Hong Kong, with six onward flights a week to Cairns. Qantas has direct daily flights from its Asian gateways, or passengers from the UK to the airline’s hubs of Sydney and Melbourne can link up with its frequent domestic flights to the city. The Australian flag carrier also code-shares with Japan Airlines on daily flights from Tokyo, and with Jetstar and KLM from Singapore.

Canberra, Australia
The national capital of Australia has none of the history of a Sydney or Melbourne and is not exactly home grown. It was purpose built as the seat of government less than 100 years ago to a design by Chicagoan architects. Bland it might be, but Canberra is nevertheless a powerhouse; your staff will come here to do business with government departments, which are attracting a growing number of independent software companies, eager to capitalise on the concentration of political customers. There are no international air services to the capital, which means flying to a gateway airport and catching any one of the numerous domestic flights.

Darwin, Australia
The economy of the capital of the Northern Territory is based on mining, tourism and energy production. It has considerable reserves of minerals, and oil and natural gas are sourced from the Timor Sea. This exploitation is boosting Darwin’s importance as a port, its trade with Asia on the increase.

The only direct routeing from the UK is with Qantas to Singapore, the airline flying on to Darwin in a code-share agreement with Jetstar.

Hobart, Australia
The skyline dominated by Mount Wellington, Hobart is the capital of the island state of Tasmania. Its busy port is home to the Antarctic activities of Australia and France, and   industries include a catamaran factory, a zinc smelter, tourism, and wine production. There are no direct flights from the UK to Tasmania, but convenient domestic connections via one of Australia’s gateway airports.      

Melbourne, Australia
The capital of the state of Victoria owes its existence to the discovery of gold in the 1850s. This triggered enormous development, with Melbourne acknowledged as one of the great cities of the Victorian age. Today, it is the Australian capital of sport and culture, the country’s busiest seaport, site of much of its automotive industry, a major technology hub, and a financial centre for Asia-Pacific.

Qantas operates a twice-daily service from Heathrow to Melbourne, with British Airways code-sharing on the route. Cathay Pacific flies from Heathrow to Hong Kong four times a day, with 21 connecting flights a week to Victoria’s capital; Singapore Airlines flies via Singapore, with three onward services a day; and Thai Airways offers a daily frequency via Bangkok. Further options include Malaysia Airlines/KLM from Kuala Lumpur, Emirates from Dubai, and Korean Airlines from Seoul.

Perth, Australia
On the Swan River, the capital of Western Australia is a neat mix of business and leisure.  With healthy reserves of minerals in much demand by emerging nations such as China, and more than two million visitors a year to the Sunset Coast, an economy based on mining and tourism is booming.

Qantas serves Perth daily from Heathrow via its Asian gateways, with British Airways code-sharing on the flights. Cathay Pacific offers five departures a week from Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines three a day from Singapore, Thai Airways five a week out of Bangkok, Malaysia Airlines/KLM nine a week from Kuala Lumpur, Royal Brunei has a daily frequency from Brunei, and Emirates flies twice-daily from Dubai.

Sydney, Australia
The so-called Harbour City, capital of New South Wales, acclaimed for superb hotels, shopping and splendid beaches, matches its leisure attractions with a dynamic yet relatively relaxed working environment. It is the largest corporate and financial centre in Australia, home to 90 banks, IT suppliers, multinationals, and half of the country’s top companies.

One-stop flights from Heathrow to Sydney include twice-daily services by both Qantas and British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic’s daily frequency. Other routeings, with frequent onward connections, include Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines through Singapore, Japan Airlines via Tokyo, Thai Airways via Bangkok, China Airlines via Taipei, Korean Airlines transiting Seoul, Malaysia Airlines/KLM through Kuala Lumpur, and Emirates and Etihad from their hubs in the Gulf.     

Auckland, New Zealand
A popular tourism destination for its breathtaking scenery, Auckland, on North Island, is also home to 8,500 businesses. The Central Business District is the largest employment centre in New Zealand, supporting 65,000 jobs, and the city’s principal sectors include port operations, financial and business services, and IT.

Air New Zealand flies to Auckland twice a day from Heathrow, one service via Los Angeles, the other through Hong Kong. Further options, with frequent onward connections from their Asian hubs, include Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines/Air New Zealand, Thai Airways, Eva Air, China Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Korean Airlines, and Royal Brunei, plus Emirates from Dubai.     

Christchurch, New Zealand
The economy of the city on South Island has always been founded on agriculture, in latter years supplemented by a thriving wine industry. But Christchurch is not simply the nation’s bread basket: technology-based industries have sprung up over recent years, and numerous businesses have been spin-offs from the University of Canterbury engineering school.
Four airlines fly to Christchurch from hub airports: Singapore airlines thrice-daily from Singapore, Japan Airlines/Air New Zealand twice a week out of Tokyo, and Emirates daily from Dubai.

Wellington, New Zealand
At the southern tip of North Island, Wellington is New Zealand’s political epicentre, the seat of parliament, and the head office of all government ministries and departments.  The nation’s capital is also the hub of its film and theatre industry. There are no direct international air routes to New Zealand’s capital. Instead, travellers from the UK should take a flight to Auckland or Christchurch and join a domestic service, or fly from an Australian gateway airport.

DOMESTIC SERVICE
Despite a rash of new low-cost carriers, Qantas remains dominant, serving 57 towns and cities across the country, and flying to New Zealand. Other leading players are Virgin Blue, which has flights to all Australian state capitals and many regional centres, a network similar to that of Qantas-owned Jetstar; Rex Regional Express, providing flights around New South Wales and South Australia; and Tiger Airways Australia, which offers rock-bottom fares. New Zealand’s main domestic carrier is Air New Zealand, which serves 26 destinations from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, and budget airlines include Origin Pacific.

THE CARBON COST
The table below shows the distance covered by a return flight between London and the destination, along with the approximate carbon emissions and the cost of offsetting it with the CarbonNeutral Company. See: www.carbonneutral.com