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Speaker 1: The story that got all of our attention I think

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Speaker 1: yesterday is the fact that Quantus is looking at using

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Speaker 1: Darwin as a transit point for its international flights to London.

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Speaker 1: This is post COVID now. The airline said that the

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Speaker 1: ability to fly a NonStop between Australia and London is

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Speaker 1: expected to be in even higher demand post COVID.

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Speaker 2: That was at a press conference yesterday.

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Speaker 1: Using Darwin as the main entry point for repatriation flights

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Speaker 1: has been a good test obviously for our international capability.

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Speaker 1: Now joining us on the line to tell us a

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Speaker 1: little bit more about this from the airport's perspective, it

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Speaker 1: is the Aviation Development Manager, Alan Woo.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you Allan.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Keaty, thanks for having me.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your time. Alan.

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Speaker 1: Has there been any discussion with the Airport Development Group

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Speaker 1: on Quantus well having those direct flights from London to US.

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Speaker 3: Energy is always having conversations with airlines improved air services

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Speaker 3: for both passengers and freight for for territory and so

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Speaker 3: so yes, you're going off what COLMP is released. I

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Speaker 3: can confirm that we are having discussions with them on

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Speaker 3: this and improving other access air access for Territorium.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's fantastic news.

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Speaker 1: I guess there is so much still that's pending when

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Speaker 1: we talk COVID, but it seems as though this could

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Speaker 1: be a massive step for the Northern territory in terms

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Speaker 1: of our aviation industry, but also the on flow to

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Speaker 1: the rest of the community when it comes to tourism

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Speaker 1: and potential tourists and people visiting us here.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely, I mean it's a in many senses, it's

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Speaker 3: a no brainer. It's so the flight length is actually

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Speaker 3: shorter between Darwin and London compared to Perth London as

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Speaker 3: well as those that are connecting from other East Coast

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Speaker 3: ports like Sydney and Melbourne deftually a shorter flight time

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Speaker 3: from there to Darwin's. Well, the in terms of customer journey,

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Speaker 3: the quicker that we can go see our friends and

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Speaker 3: family that we haven't seen in a couple of years

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Speaker 3: is obviously a fantastic benefit. And you're absolutely right in

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Speaker 3: terms of visitation any it's widely accepted that that NonStop

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Speaker 3: connected activity between two regions actually similarly it's travel and

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Speaker 3: so you know, for you, in respects to the UK,

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Speaker 3: UK is Darwin's largest single visitor market. So what that

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Speaker 3: means to Darwin and the top end and our residences

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Speaker 3: is you know, I don't have to tell you that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Well, and I wondered though, I suppose we read in

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Speaker 1: the media yesterday in some of those national publications that

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Speaker 1: Perth has obviously been receiving this flight for a period

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Speaker 1: of time. Now I know that they've got like an

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Speaker 1: international lounge and things like that at their airport. Alan

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Speaker 1: is there going to have to be if this does

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Speaker 1: come through and if we do end up in a

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Speaker 1: situation where these flights do inded come through Darwin rather

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Speaker 1: than Perth, is there going to need to be upgrades

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Speaker 1: or different things done at the airport to accommodate.

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Speaker 3: To serve this We are currently, as you're aware, the

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Speaker 3: repat plates are arriving from London and so we have

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Speaker 3: the capacity and the capability to serve these to serve

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Speaker 3: these plates, some of what you mentioned in regards to lounges, etc.

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Speaker 3: Those are innocent value add it's not essential to actually

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Speaker 3: delivery of these services.

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Speaker 1: And what about when you, I suppose talk about whether

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Speaker 1: it is going to happen. I suppose plenty of us

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Speaker 1: are wondering at the moment, whether this is Alan Joyce's

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Speaker 1: way of just holding the premiere of Western Australia. You know,

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Speaker 1: I'm telling him sort of pull your socks up, or

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Speaker 1: we're going to fly through Darwin. But do you think

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Speaker 1: that there could at least be the potential of this

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Speaker 1: happening for a period of time to see just how

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Speaker 1: well it works.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, And as I mentioned, the UK is Darwin's largest

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Speaker 3: single market, and there is in terms of Darwin be

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Speaker 3: an access point. It makes sense in terms of that

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Speaker 3: customer journey that I mentioned earlier.

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Speaker 2: So what are the next steps, Allen? Where do we

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Speaker 2: go from here?

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Speaker 3: Put your ticket Katie. The next steps is that, as

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Speaker 3: with any development of air services, there's a number of

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Speaker 3: stakeholders that are involved, and includes of course airport. Now

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Speaker 3: those aircraft need to land and offload passengers somewhere and freight,

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Speaker 3: I might add, and all that are key stakeholders within

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Speaker 3: the region, including government et cetera. So those discussions are

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Speaker 3: littly ongoing and in terms of the public knowing any

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Speaker 3: anything further, I mean that's that is ultimately the decision

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Speaker 3: of those that own the aircraft and offered aircraft for

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Speaker 3: just Quanta. So you know, I can't provide any when

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Speaker 3: there is or it could be an announcement. The next

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Speaker 3: steps is to flush up those details. What the key

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Speaker 3: stakeholders that developed these services?

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Speaker 1: Alan, could this really though, you know? Could we see

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Speaker 1: what's happened with COVID be a bit of a pivot.

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Speaker 1: I suppose for the Northern Territory or for airlines to

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Speaker 1: look more at the Northern Territory, particularly at Darwin, rather

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Speaker 1: than some of those other larger capital cities.

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Speaker 3: Let me let me ask a rhetorical question with and

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Speaker 3: following from your comments on COVID, would you if you

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Speaker 3: were going to transit somewhere and with possible of risk

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Speaker 3: of being stuck somewhere, would you rather be stuck in

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Speaker 3: a foreign country or would you rather be stuck in

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Speaker 3: arguably the best place to be in Australia?

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Speaker 2: So you reckon it? Is it is the go. We're

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Speaker 2: going to have more airlines looking to Darwit.

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Speaker 3: Well, I look at it the question in terms of

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Speaker 3: is there a pivot? There clearly is a pivot in

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Speaker 3: the aviation sector pre COVID. An announcement of a new

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Speaker 3: route would be few and far between, and there's been

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Speaker 3: a number of new routes in announced in Australia and

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Speaker 3: globally because of the need for port or the desire

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Speaker 3: for a point to point travel in the territory in

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Speaker 3: our in respect to just us this in the pivot

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Speaker 3: to to to Darwin and the demand for travel on

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Speaker 3: top of moving here and what people have coined COVID refugees,

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Speaker 3: et cetera. This is just one intigation in the trends

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Speaker 3: of the shift towards the top end in terms of

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Speaker 3: my area. The The other evidence leading up to this

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Speaker 3: announcements are things like Quantis commencing NonStop dar the canber

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Speaker 3: Roots and recently virgin announced that it was commencing NonStop

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Speaker 3: Adelaite Dalan route. So that's just a couple of passenger

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Speaker 3: related ones. But what about the ones that maybe fly

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Speaker 3: under the radar previous to COVID the ore, agriculture and industry,

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Speaker 3: we're screening out for connectivity to direct international markets like Singapore,

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Speaker 3: and today the exports sector can now on a dedicated

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Speaker 3: freighter send their perishables to Singapore and a five per

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Speaker 3: week service that's been operated by DHL. So this is

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Speaker 3: for me, this is just following a trend that we've

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Speaker 3: been seeing through COVID. I know there's a lot of it.

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Speaker 3: Often it's we folcus on the negatives, but there are

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Speaker 3: lots of opportunities and the pivots for us is observably

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Speaker 3: towards the top end of Australia.

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Speaker 2: Well, let's hope so. And that is good to hear. Alan.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning. Make thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for having it chat with us.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, Katy, thank you.

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Speaker 1: That is Alan Wu there who is the Aviation Development

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Speaker 1: manager at well at the Airport Development Group, so the

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Speaker 1: Darwin International Airport and the other territory will Alice Springs

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Speaker 1: Airport as well. Good to catch up with Alan and

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Speaker 1: hear a little bit more there, not only about the

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Speaker 1: possibility of this QUANTUS flight obviously from London, but some

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Speaker 1: of the other things that are happening.