What a misleading article. Mr Comarty fails to recognise that all the so-called competition is government subsidised whilst in aviation the end user pays the full economic cost of its use.
Who paid for the nice dual lane carriage way? Was it the end user? Would people still drive if it was a giant toll road like aviation is? What would happen to cars if the government dropped the petrol excise and stopped building infrastructure just like they did to aviation?
Why doesn't anyone innovate and build new design aircraft anymore? What is stopping that innovation?
Would road freight really be cheaper than air freight if the end user was paying the full economic cost of its transport?
How much dispensation are CASA going to give a new autonomous drone technology vis a vis a new aircraft design? How many more hurdles have to be jumped by the aircraft or are they the same?
Why is it that it costs $280 to drive on 386km of road yet over $1000 to fly in the air, which cost nothing, and take-off/land on say 3KM total of runway? How is that road actually a reflection on the true cost of building it? Or hasn't he actually factored the cost of the road at all??