Who needs an aircraft named after them when you can't afford to go anywhere?
The people of western Queensland need help. Our voices cannot break through the corporate bubble around Qantas nor are our words any match for state and federal governments that lack the courage to address the price gouging and total disregard for people with no other flight option.
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Qantas has announced one of its 787 Dreamliners - to fly the Brisbane to San Francisco or Chicago direct route - will be named Longreach in honour of the town where the airline began.
It's a pathetic, hollow gesture when the people of Longreach are often are left stranded or paying more than the price of an international ticket to visit loved ones living in Queensland.
Three of many examples
On December 10, 2017 the only flight into and out of Longreach to Brisbane was cancelled. Boyd Curran, a regular passenger, was booked on that flight so he could attend a meeting the next morning on the Gold Coast.
When the flight was cancelled QantasLink offered no alternative flight. Mr Curran was told by the Qantas state manager to drive to 400 kilometres to Emerald to catch a flight from there. Mr Curran explained to her that there wasn't enough time. She suggested he drive the 1300 kilometres through the night to make his meeting the next morning. I wonder what the Qantas workplace policy is on staff travelling more than a thousand kilometres at night.
Aircraft breakdowns, passengers understand. Why wasn't a replacement flight sent? The Longreach passengers have no other option; they can't just book with another carrier. Mr Curran didn't make his important meeting.
Also on that cancelled flight was Lynn Fraser and two other passengers who had driven 170 kilometres from Winton to catch the flight to Brisbane to have eye surgery the following day. Stranded in Longreach the night at their own expense, Lyn and the others arrived in Brisbane the next day but had missed their surgical appointments.
Luckily for them their surgeon Bill Glasson truly understood their predicament and kept his surgery open into the night to perform their surgery. The kindness and flexibility Dr Glasson showed by giving up his own time and that of his team, which no doubt would have cost much in overtime just so Lyn and the other patients could get treatment is in contrast to Qantas' 'too bad and cop a cancellation fee' attitude for its country passengers.
How much do you think it would cost to fly from Longreach to Mackay at short notice to visit a loved one? Patricia Sutton paid $1401 for a one way flight. There's not much else to say.
Birthplace lip service
There was a time when Qantas would sponsor airfares for charity events and community events. That generosity has shrunk to the size of a pathetic pineapple - the Longreach Show Society was offered a $50 discount on tickets to bring judges up for the Longreach Show in May this year. Qantas supports some very big organisations and I applaud that but why won't they support the people in western Queensland?
Qantas began as a response to the struggle and tyranny of distance early Queenslanders faced, and still face. It started in Longreach, but the airline has lost touch with its origins and doesn't care unless it can be used as part of the brand or as a marketing opportunity.
The Longreach community started the Qantas Founders Museum, and the airline provided early support of $1M in 2002 and has since offered smaller amounts.
It's a successful local attraction that's relying on state and federal government grants to grow and support the local community without endorsement or significant support from Qantas. But just you watch as the airline's 100th birthday rolls around. I guarantee their promotion will be dripping in Australian nostalgia for its humble beginnings, a place they neglect and ignore most of the time.
State government complicit
Every time we board a plane in Longreach the address tells us the state government is in partnership with QantasLink. Why don't they stand up to Qantas and investigate the whole process? Part of the contract is to have consultative meetings with the community a few times a year. A great idea in theory but these meetings are invite only, hardly open and transparent.
Many locals try to get around the expensive flights by travelling to Emerald (400km from Longreach) because fares are often hundreds of dollars cheaper. While they are there they shop, get the car serviced, etc, which damages our local economy.
Tourists and family friends don't visit or visit less frequently because of the expense. What are you going to do? Fly to Melbourne for a weekend from Brisbane for a couple of hundred dollars or fly to Longreach for a possible sum of $1236?
What good is naming a plane after the region if people can't afford to come and visit?
Qantas is all about social licence when it suits them and paying lip service to the idea of a model corporate citizen who wants to make a difference. But imagine the real difference they could make to our lives if they offered affordable flights to outback Queensland. It wouldn't be glossy or app-worthy, but it would grow their birthplace's tourism industry, help develop an attraction built in its honour into an international aviation destination and in doing so actually save a struggling community.
When I sat down to start writing this, a one way fare to Brisbane tomorrow was $517 one way. We need help - this corporation and government is doing as little as possible and no one is listening.
- Danny Sheehan, Longreach
