The airlines are wildly claiming that “high airport charges” on regional and rural routes are adding up to 30 percent of base ticket price while refusing to acknowledge the impact of their own fees.
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In their submission to the inquiry into the operation, regulation and funding of air route service delivery to rural, regional and remote communities the group called Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) representing Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, Rex and Air New Zealand said high airport charges were one of the biggest roadbloacks to the airlines’ ability to grow existing routes and introduce new ones.
“Australian airports are now collecting more revenue per passenger and generating significantly higher profits than their international benchmarks,” A4ANZ said in their submission.
“The majority of the most expensive airports are in northern regional Australia.”
Owners of Cloncurry airport, Cloncurry Shire Council strongly deny this accusation.
“Assuming a return fare cost of $800, passenger and landing taxes levied by Cloncurry Shire Council equate to less than 5% of the fare,” the council said in their submission to the Inquiry. “What airlines often fail to acknowledge is that every cent collected at Cloncurry Airport through these fees is injected back into the community.”
A4ANZ laughingly claim there is no evidence airlines are “ripping off” consumers in regional and rural areas.
“A4ANZ appreciates the cost and accessibility of flights can be an emotive issue, however the solution does not lie in simplistic threats to airlines to drop fares or ‘other carriers will be brought in’.”
A4ANZ appreciates the cost and accessibility of flights can be an emotive issue
- A4ANZ airline cartel
A4ANZ uses the usual excuses to justify pricing such as passenger number variability, airport and fuel charges. “While there is a tendency to draw comparisons between the cost of fares on regional routes with routes such as Melbourne-Sydney, such comparisons are flawed due to dissimilar economies of scale and underlying fundamental differences between route economics.”
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
