Hamish Griffin, 46, said that a not-for-profit service paying for charters could offer cheaper airfare tickets than those by the major airlines that land at the Cloncurry Airport. He aimed to meet with a charter service on Thursday to discuss options.

In May Mr Griffin publicly blasted Qantas’s airfare prices on social media. He now says the airline’s recent subsidy offer announced late last week is not good enough to support Cloncurry. 

“It depends entirely on cost,” Mr Griffin said. “It’s worth noting that this idea is just that at the moment – an idea. 

“It would be a private charter effectively, or a community based committee would charter a 100 seat aircraft and sell tickets. 

“We would have to sell enough tickets or have commitments in the form of a deposit. The more seats sold the cheaper they would get...this is the complete opposite to how the commercial airlines work.” 

Among the difficulties that could test its affordability is the differences in rates and landing fees that are set by the shire council owned airport. Charter flights are required to pay $47 per passenger while main airlines are charged $36.10 a passenger. 

Qantas said that from November it would trial a discount of up to 30 per cent for local residents on Mount Isa to Townsville and Brisbane routes. Cloncurry’s route to Townsville would also be subsidised. 

Cloncurry mayor Greg Campbell had questions for Qantas regarding the subsidy because there was little detail. His main question was whether Cloncurry residents could receive the discount flight to Brisbane if they boarded in Mount Isa. 

Cr Campbell said that he was meeting with Mr Griffin within a week to hear his idea. The mayor acknowledged a difference in landing fees between airline companies and charter planes. He said it had been the long-term policy of the council to prevent Fly In, Fly Out workers to charter together. 

There were no charter plane businesses based in Cloncurry but the mayor would welcome one. 

The council would also have a role in putting the case forward to major airlines. Cr Campbell did not believe they would majorly object. 

“If it comes down to competition which I’m sure the other major airlines are in the business of – having competition – I would be hesitant to see they would have a problem with it.” 

 Qantas Domestic chief executive Andrew David had outlined the financial difficulties of regional air travel when announcing the subsidy. 

“These regional routes don’t have the levels of demand needed to sustain a much larger aircraft and we want to maintain the frequency of services,” Mr David said. 

“The reality is that the per kilometre cost on a small aircraft is significantly higher than a larger aircraft that operates between major cities, because the costs are divided by a much higher number of passengers.”