Originally Posted by
Traffic_Is_Er_Was
And no one flies a jet out of there. It's 3+ hours to drive to Melbourne, 5+ to Sydney. Flying is a viable option, but you are only offered a turboprop. Ballarat is 1 hour drive to Melbourne airport and not much longer to Avalon. It can take longer than that to drive to the airport from some Melbourne suburbs. Anywhere is basically a commute and fly from Ballarat. That's why it's not serviced by anyone with anything.
No way a jet would be any faster on Melbourne - Albury, it would make zero difference, VA did operate the E-Jet on the Sydney route, but downgraded to the ATR when the E-Jets retired. As for Ballarat, the key is offering it as an alternative to Melbourne, both for locals and Melbourne travellers. Why has no one used it, because traditional regional flights operate to the capital of that state, ie Melbourne, and yes it's way easier to drive or catch the train for such a short distance. The other massive reason, is like Bendigo the runway is way too short for a decent operator to fly interstate connections as well as poor navaid service for an area prone to bad weather. To make Ballarat suitable a significant upgrade would be required, ILS installation and major runway and apron works, as well as a terminal.