After Qantas and Rex have announced their latest changes to their residential fares schemes the focus has now switched to the other major provider in the North West - Virgin Australia.
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Recently Rex announced it was expanding its community fare scheme across western Queensland while this week Qantas announced it would cap its maximum fare to the nearest capital city to $400 for centres including Mount Isa and Cloncurry.
Both moves came in response to the recently concluded Senate regional air fares inquiry.
However from Virgin Australia there has only been crickets.
Cheaper fares advocate Hamish Griffin said Virgin had been quietly flying under the radar and have likely enjoyed seeing the pressure being put on their main competitor.
"The fact that they were only given half a day at the Senate Inquiry Hearing that I attended in Brisbane shows that they are not thought of as much of a problem as Qantas, but they are," Mr Griffin said.
"I firmly believe that they are equally at fault in the price gouging that has been and continues to be seen in the region."
When asked by the North West Star on Friday whether there was plans to introduce a community fare scheme, a Virgin Australia spokesperson deflected the question.
"Virgin Australia is committed to providing consistent and reliable services throughout our regional flight network," the spokesperson said.
"To ensure that our airfares are as competitive as possible, we run a number of discounted fares from regional communities throughout the year as well as weekly 'Happy Hour' sales each Thursday from 4pm till 11pm. Where possible, we encourage guests to book in advance to secure the lowest fares."
However Mr Griffin said the concept of booking as far ahead as possible to secure the best price simply doesn't wash.
"Some of the highest fares I've seen have been from Virgin, for example, over $1000 one was from Brisbane to Cloncurry," he said.
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