Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited (APAC) is an unlisted company and owner of two Australian airports: Melbourne Airport and Launceston Airport. Each airport is operated by an airport lessee company, in which APAC has a controlling interest: Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne) Pty Ltd (APAM) and Australia Pacific Airports (Launceston) Pty Ltd (APAL) respectively.
APAC acquired the lease for Melbourne Airport for A$1.307 billion on 2 July 1997, and a 90% stake in Launceston Airport for A$18.8 million on 29 May 1998. Launceston City Council owns the remaining 10% of Launceston Airport. Each airport is under a fifty year long term lease from the Australian Government, with options for a further forty-nine years.
The company is majority Australian owned by three Australian fund managers: 51% by AMP Limited; 33% by Deutsche Asset Management; and 16% by Hastings Funds Management Limited. BAA Limited, a large UK-based airport operator, previously owned 19.8% of APAC, which it sold on 21 October 2006, shortly after it was acquired by a Ferrovial-led consortium. Its interest was acquired by the other three shareholders equally.
The Chairman of the Board is Don Mercer and the Chief Executive Officer is Chris Woodruff.
APAC makes money from charging landing fees to airlines, from retail operations and office accommodation within its airports and from parking fees. Most aspects of pricing at both airports are monitored by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government has jurisdiction over airport planning, environmental management and aviation safety and security. These were part of the conditions of privatisation of the airports.
Famous quotes containing the words australia, pacific and/or corporation:
“It is very considerably smaller than Australia and British Somaliland put together. As things stand at present there is nothing much the Texans can do about this, and ... they are inclined to shy away from the subject in ordinary conversation, muttering defensively about the size of oranges.”
—Alex Atkinson, British humor writer. repr. In Present Laughter, ed. Alan Coren (1982)
“I need not tell you of the inadequacy of the American shipping marine on the Pacific Coast.... For this reason it seems to me that there is no subject to which Congress can better devote its attention in the coming session than the passage of a bill which shall encourage our merchant marine in such a way as to establish American lines directly between New York and the eastern ports and South American ports, and both our Pacific Coast ports and the Orient and the Philippines.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“What I am anxious to do is to get the best bill possible with the least amount of friction.... I wish to avoid [splitting our party]. I shall do all in my power to retain the corporation tax as it is now and also force a reduction of the [tariff] schedules. It is only when all other efforts fail that I’ll resort to headlines and force the people into this fight.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)