Kangaroo route

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The kangaroo route is a term to denote passenger airline flights between Europe and Australia or New Zealand; these flights generally have a stopover along the Southeast Asia flight corridor. Flights along this route are considered to generate high yield for airlines; this is due to the large population of European ancestry in Australia and New Zealand, along with the long distances involved. However, because of agreements between the various governments along the route, the number of airlines allowed to fly the route has traditionally been restricted. The name refers not only to the kangaroo, native to Australia, but also to the fact that the journey was traditionally accomplished with at least two "hops" due to the stopovers, alluding to the kangaroo's means of locomotion.

The main stop-over point is at Singapore Changi Airport, where intense competition is fought between Singapore Airlines and a British Airways-Qantas alliance. Over 3.6 million passengers travel on the Singapore-Australia sector alone per year [1], with most transiting on to Europe-bound flights. Over time, other airports have tried to take a bigger share of this stop-over business with varied success. While Bangkok International Airport's share has remained steady (albeit small) in comparison, Kuala Lumpur International Airport lost out substantially in the race when both British Airways and Qantas stopped their flights to the airport altogether, leaving Malaysia Airlines and Austrian Airlines as the only players. Given the range of newer Airbus and Boeing models, it is now possible for direct flights between Europe and Australia, with Perth as the key departure/destination point [2]; it remains to be seen whether airlines will take advantage of this possiblility.

In recent years, Emirates and other airlines in the Middle East have been aggressively promoting the use of their airports (such as Dubai) as stop-over points. The Hong Kong authorities have similarly begun to open up their airspace, allowing Virgin Atlantic to enter this market (in December 2004), and giving Qantas the rights to fly from Hong Kong onwards to London in direct competition with Cathay Pacific. Air New Zealand introduced flights from Auckland to London via Hong Kong in October 2006.

Despite the growing competition from Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, the only airlines offering Kangaroo route flights with same flight number and same aircraft from start to finish are Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic.

[edit] Routes by airline

Airline	European Departure Point(s)	Stopover	Australasian Departure Point(s)
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Barcelona, Madrid, Rome	Buenos Aires	Melbourne, Sydney
Air China	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stocklom	Beijing	Auckland, Sydney
Air Mauritius	Paris, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Zürich	Mauritius	Perth, Melbourne, Sydney
Air New Zealand	London (Heathrow)	Los Angeles	Auckland
	London (Heathrow)	Hong Kong	Auckland
Asiana Airlines	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow)	Seoul	Sydney
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	Singapore	Melbourne
	Vienna	Kuala Lumpur	Sydney
British Airways	London (Heathrow)	Singapore	Sydney
	London (Heathrow)	Bangkok	Sydney
Cathay Pacific	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Paris (CDG), Rome	Hong Kong	Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
China Airlines	Amsterdam[1], Frankfurt, Rome[1], Vienna[1]	Taipei	Brisbane, Sydney
China Eastern Airlines	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow),Moscow, Paris (CDG)	Shanghai	Melbourne, Sydney
China Southern Airlines	Amsterdam, Paris	Guangzhou	Melbourne, Sydney
Emirates	Athens, Birmingham, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Larnaca[1], London (Gatwick), London (Heathrow), Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris (CDG), Rome, Nice, Vienna, Zürich	Dubai	Auckland[1], Brisbane, Christchurch[1], Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
EVA Air	Amsterdam[1], London (Heathrow)[1], Paris (CDG), Vienna[1]	Taipei	Brisbane
Gulf Air	Paris (CDG), Frankfurt, Athens, Dublin, London (Heathrow)	Bahrain(Manama)	Sydney
Japan Airlines	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Milan, Moscow, Paris (CDG), Rome, Zürich	Tokyo (NRT)	Brisbane, Sydney
Korean Air	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Moscow, Paris, Prague, Rome, St Petersburg[2], Zürich	Seoul (Incheon)	Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch[3], Sydney
LAN Airlines	Frankfurt[1],Madrid	Santiago	Auckland, Sydney[1]
Malaysia Airlines	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Manchester, Paris (CDG), Rome, Stockholm, Zürich, Vienna	Kuala Lumpur	Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Qantas	London(Heathrow)	Bangkok	Sydney
	London (Heathrow)	Hong Kong	Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow)	Singapore	Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Royal Brunei Airlines	Frankfurt[1], London (Heathrow)[1]	Brunei	Auckland[1], Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Sydney
Singapore Airlines	Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona[1], Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Manchester, Milan, Moscow[1], Paris (CDG), Rome, Zürich	Singapore	Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
South African Airways	Frankfurt,London, Zurich, Paris (CDG)	Johannesburg	Melbourne (starting 2007), Perth, Sydney (Codeshare with Qantas)
Thai Airways	Athens, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Madrid, Munich, Milan, Moscow, Paris (CDG), Rome, Stockholm, Zürich	Bangkok	Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Vietnam Airlines	Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris (CDG)	Ho Chi Minh City	Melbourne, Sydney
	Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris	Hanoi	Sydney
Virgin Atlantic	London (Heathrow)	Hong Kong	Sydney

[edit] Routes by stopover

Airline	European Departure Point(s)	Stopover	Australasian Departure Point(s)
Gulf Air	Paris (CDG), Frankfurt, Athens, Dublin, London (Heathrow)	Bahrain(Manama)	Sydney
British Airways	London (Heathrow)	Bangkok	Sydney
Qantas	London(Heathrow)		Sydney
Thai Airways	Athens, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Madrid, Munich, Milan, Moscow, Paris (CDG), Rome, Stockholm, Zürich		Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Air China	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Stocklom	Beijing	Melbourne, Sydney
Royal Brunei Airlines	Frankfurt[1], London (Heathrow)[1]	Brunei	Auckland[1], Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Sydney
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Barcelona, Madrid, Rome	Buenos Aires	Melbourne, Sydney
Emirates	Athens, Birmingham, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Larnaca[1], London (Gatwick), London (Heathrow), Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris (CDG), Rome, Nice, Vienna, Zürich	Dubai	Auckland[1], Brisbane, Christchurch[1], Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
China Southern Airlines	Amsterdam, Paris	Guangzhou	Melbourne, Sydney
Vietnam Airlines	Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris	Hanoi	Sydney
Vietnam Airlines	Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris (CDG)	Ho Chi Minh City	Melbourne, Sydney
Air New Zealand	London (Heathrow)	Hong Kong	Auckland
Cathay Pacific	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Paris (CDG), Rome		Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Qantas	London (Heathrow)		Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Virgin Atlantic	London (Heathrow)		Sydney
South African Airways	Frankfurt,London, Zurich, Paris (CDG)	Johannesburg	Melbourne (starting 2007), Perth, Sydney (Codeshare with Qantas)
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	Kuala Lumpur	Sydney
Malaysia Airlines	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Manchester, Paris (CDG), Rome, Stockholm, Zürich, Vienna		Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Air New Zealand	London (Heathrow)	Los Angeles	Auckland
Air Mauritius	Paris, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Zürich	Mauritius	Perth, Melbourne, Sydney
LAN Airlines	Frankfurt[1],Madrid	Santiago	Auckland, Sydney[1]
Asiana Airlines	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow)	Seoul (Incheon)	Sydney
Korean Air	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Moscow, Paris, Prague, Rome, St Petersburg[4], Zürich		Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch[5], Sydney
China Eastern Airlines	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow),Moscow, Paris (CDG)	Shanghai	Melbourne, Sydney
Austrian Airlines	Vienna	Singapore	Melbourne
British Airways	London (Heathrow)		Sydney
Qantas	Frankfurt, London (Heathrow)		Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
Singapore Airlines	Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona[1], Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Manchester, Milan, Moscow[1], Paris (CDG), Rome, Zürich		Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
China Airlines	Amsterdam[1], Frankfurt, Rome[1], Vienna[1]	Taipei	Brisbane, Sydney
EVA Air	Amsterdam[1], London (Heathrow)[1], Paris (CDG), Vienna[1]		Brisbane
Japan Airlines	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London (Heathrow), Milan, Moscow, Paris (CDG), Rome, Zürich	Tokyo (NRT)	Brisbane, Sydney

[edit] Notes