Singapore Airlines daily Airbus A380 services are now flying to Melbourne and will help an ever growing number of visitors touch down in Victoria, Industry and Trade Minister Martin Pakula said today.
"This will be Melbourne's first daily A380 service and it is a critically important one," Mr Pakula said.
"It will create an annual 35,000 additional inbound seats from Singapore, which is proving to be one of Victoria's most resilient sources of international visitors – 74,000 during 2008-09, up 15.8 per cent on the year before.
"This will be a welcome boost to Victoria's outstanding restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions to help them through the global financial crisis.
"Singapore Airlines' extensive network, which spans 38 countries and 93 ports across five continents, means that Victoria's links with destinations beyond Singapore will also be enhanced.
"This is especially significant in relation to the UK and European market, which is strongly served by Singapore Airlines, and which accounted for around 30 per cent of all international visitor nights to Victoria last financial year."
Singapore Airlines was the first airline in the world to operate A380 services and currently has nine A380 aircraft in active service, each configured with 471 seats across three classes. The daily flights will increase Singapore Airlines' capacity into Melbourne by 10 per cent.
Its A380 services fly from Singapore into London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney and now, Melbourne.
Mr Pakula said a run of recent international aviation wins had helped Melbourne Airport to grow international passenger numbers by 3.2 per cent last financial year and achieve a 7.4 per cent year-on-year increase in August 2009.
"Victoria's aviation wins reflect our strong economy, outstanding program of major events and world class attractions, coupled with the Brumby Labor Government's proactive approach to developing aviation and tourism," he said.
"Crucially, they will provide our State with a lasting economic boost, growing jobs in tourism and hospitality, helping to attract more inbound investment and supporting our export effort by expanding air freight capacity."
For the year ending December 2008, Singapore Airlines flew 14 per cent of all international visitors into Melbourne, second only to Qantas with 25 per cent market share.
"The new A380 service will add further to the airline's appeal and I look forward to seeing the mutually beneficial relationship between Victoria and Singapore Airlines continuing to grow and develop over the future," Mr Pakula said.
