A Go Fund Me campaign has been launched to get local cheaper flights advocate Hamish Griffin to the Brisbane airline hearing on February 15.
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The Senate Inquiry into regional air routes has announced that Virgin and Alliance Airlines will give testimony at the Brisbane hearing though no date has been set for Qantas.
The GoFundMe page, set up by Stephen Chivers said Mr Griffin, a resident of Cloncurry, had been fighting a long time for a hearing with the Airlines about the absurdity in pricing for flights to regional areas, such as Cloncurry and Mount Isa.
“Hamish needs assistance, as the very thing he is fighting against is stopping him from going,” Mr Chivers said on the page.
“Due to the short notice of the hearing, flights from Cloncurry or Mount Isa are ridiculously expensive, making it unaffordable for Hamish on his own.”
Mr Griffin said flights and accommodation to attend was likely to cost around $1600.
“I’ve never been one to take hand outs, I’ve always worked hard for what I have and I pride myself as a good provider,” Mr Griffin said.
“This said, I’m not made of money and I am determined to attend the recently announced public hearing of Virgin and Alliance Airlines.”
Alliance will be represented by CEO Lee Schofield and managing director Scott McMillan while Virgin will be represented by head of government and international relations, Lee-Anne Tomkins, group executive Rob Sharp and general manager network and revenue management Russell Shaw.
Mr Griffin said he had previously met with Mr Sharp who was Virgin’s second in command in Australia.
“I will be very interested in comparing what he has to say on the day with what he told me six months ago,” he said.
Mr Griffin said that while he did not expect to be able to testify at the hearing – he did that at the Cloncurry hearing in April 2018 – he wanted to know more about the airlines’ dynamic pricing policies and particularly understand if there was any link between sudden price hikes and road closures.
In March 2018 Virgin advertised a $974 one way flight from Cloncurry to Townsville as a “special” at the time when the Flinders Highway was closed due to flooding.
At the time Virgin refused to answer questions from the North West Star whether they had deliberately lifted fares to take advantage of stranded residents with no other way of getting in and out.
Mr Griffin said he was not too concerned Qantas was not part of the hearing on February 15.
“I would imagine they are so big they will have their own hearing later,” he said.
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