Today's 'Canberra Times' carries an article by David Seale, the short version of which is that Regional Express (REX) CEO Geoff Breust says his airline is having significant difficulty in attracting public service bookings despite offering a plethora of cheap seats.
The article goes on to say that REX started in Canberra with 11 return services to Sydney each day; it now has six and that if bookings don't pick up in the next two months, it will be forced to leave the market.
Although not stated, there would doubtless be job losses if REX left the Canberra market.
I've flown to and from Canberra via REX on several occasions. I found the schedule to be convenient, the aircraft clean, the service good and the staff friendly and efficient.
There's a suggestion that public servants prefer QANTAS because it offers QANTAS Club membership packages at discount rates in return for business loyalty. This conveniently ignores the fact that public service running costs are met from public funds. There's an obligation on public servants to spend taxpayers' funds economically and efficiently. Unfortunately, in the 'my rights and entitlements' mindset endemic in the public sector, economy and efficiency seem to be beyond the capacity of many public servants to comprehend.
Put another way, it simply beggars belief that senior public sector managers, most of whom have never been exposed to commercial risk, can condone more perks for 'fat cats' at the taxpayers' expense with scant regard for the jobs of fellow Australians.
I'm not normally a fan of management by direction. But in this case, it seems that a KITA needs to be administered to those in charge of public service travel to ensure that there's a fair go all round, including the taxpayer.