From the managing editor

WELCOME to our November-december issue, which for the first time includes a hard copy version of the popular Business Class Airline Guide previously produced online by Travel Daily. Many agents have told us how they regularly use our airline guides when talking to clients, and we hope that the new print format with travelbulletin makes them even more useful – keep your eye out for Economy, Premium Economy and First Class guides in upcoming issues of the magazine. Meanwhile, the expansion of the marketing partnership between Tourism Australia and Virgin Australia announced this month has seen VA become the tourism body’s largest airline partner. Virgin Australia will provide targeted support for Tourism Australia’s business events and international media hosting programs, as well as Australian Tourism Exchange in 2015 – in the process exposing its product to a carefully targeted group of highly influential international media and travel product buyers. While great news for Australian tourism, the Virgin deal also underlines the longstanding impasse between Qantas and Tourism Australia (TA) which must surely be seen as an ongoing embarrassment and a lost opportunity for the national carrier. Two years ago Qantas CEO Alan Joyce pulled the plug on QF’S 40-yearlong relationship with Tourism Australia, citing a conflict of interest by his former mentor and TA chairman Geoff Dixon, who was part of an investor consortium agitating to change the airline’s direction. At the time Qantas said it would redirect the money it was spending on tourism marketing with Tourism Australia to the various state tourism organisations – again great news for the industry, but also creating a confusing message when contrasted with TA’S calls for the sector to speak with a single voice when marketing Australia. To observers overseas the continuation of the bitter feud between Qantas and Tourism Australia is looking more and more like a petulant dummy spit which has opened up opportunities that QF’S competitors must have previously only dreamed of. Tourism Australia now has an array of airline partners, including all three of Virgin Australia’s major foreign carrier shareholders in the form of Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad. The Dixon consortium has long since walked away from its aspirations to control the carrier, but there appears to be no shift in the QF position which looks increasingly like a self-destructive own goal.