Hi fellow a-netters. PER has seen a massive increase in services since the last few years, the majority being to leisure destinations in Asia provided by low cost airlines like Tiger, Pacific Blue & Jetstar or mining towns around the state. My question is, once the GFC is over - what is the future? What other airlines/markets could we see brought into the network and approx. when about? With Perth being Australia's fastest growing city with one of the biggest mining industries in the world, there are bound to be markets left underserved that have O&D demand.

The CEO of Etihad said in an interview he wanted EY to be in PER by 2010 - doesn't look like that's happening. EK have a monopoly in the gulf region at the moment, so surely there is enough demand for 3-5 weekly flights to AUH with a 345/346. Any chance we could see them operating into Perth once more aircraft join the fleet?

Markets such as China and Vietnam definitely have enough demand for thrice weekly direct services. Apart from QF/CX to HKG, there are no direct services to China whatsoever. I would definitely think QF or MU would benefit from a 3-5 x weekly service between PER and PVG with a 330. With China having such a strong presence in the mining industry in WA, a route to either Shanghai or Beijing is way overdue. Vietnam is also a growing holiday destination to Aussies, and I would definitely like to see VN fly a 772 down a few times a week from SGN.

JQ obviously has a much bigger presence in PER than it did two or three years ago, and I can't help but think which other domestic and international ports they will serve from PER a few years down the track. Domestic, i'm definitely thinking Darwin - possibly even cutting QF services and replacing them with JQ (or something like JQ 320 10 x weekly and QF 738 4 x weekly services) and even Gold Coast. Internationally, I could see HKT going direct rather via SIN and KUL, BKK & SGN (all destinations not served by QF) utilized by a 332 or 787. One thing i'd definitely like to see is JQ replace QF on the PER-NRT run OR QF upgrade the service to a 332. Ten hours on an old rattly 763 is not fun, believe me.

Rumour has it DJ are snapping up some 739ER's which I think would be PERFECT for routes like Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Surabaya, Ho Chi Minh & the existing destinations of Denpasar & Phuket. I could definitely see DJ luring passengers across from JQ if they offer a premium economy service on these routes - especially predominately business markets like CGK and SIN.

New Zealand can definitely do with extra capacity. I'd like to see NZ upgrade AKL to a daily 772 and fly a 763 from CHC a few times a week to open up a new market. There were theories floating around of DJ flying a 737-700 from PER to CHC, but I doubt this route would be profitable. DJ would need to offer a better product to compete with NZ.

Smaller Asian markets such as South Korea or Taiwan could also be a possibility. OS could fly a 763 down twice a week or CI could potentially tag a DPS service down to PER.

India is also a key market without direct flights. I know Qantas offers a PER-SIN-BOM service codesharing with Jet Airways, and there are obvious connections available by SQ, MH, TG etc - but seeing Jet fly their own metal to Australia would definitely be a charm. Something like BOM-PER-SYD could even work.

Now, Europe is a network obviously well covered by QF, SQ, TG, MH & EK. I know it's far fetched, but I would love to see QF restart 744 services on a PER-SIN-LHR/PER-BKK-LHR route. With strong ties to Etihad, even something like a five weekly PER-AUH-LHR service could work, obviously codesharing with EY.

That's my opinion on the topic. What are your thoughts/ideas/opinions?