Victor two. Market forces? What are they in the 'Territory? How much of a population base do you think we have?
While I don't work for the company concerned, I do work for the bloke who owns most of it and will say that I've only seen the aircraft empty
once in the past couple of years.
They've tried everything from scaling back from an (effectively) 6 day a week schedule (5 days a week, and into AS on saturday, out on sunday), to offering government and high utilisation companies (such as mining companies) significant discounts for tickets bought either in bulk or pre-paid vouchers. The mining companies (such as Giant's Reef, Barminco etc) still to this day charter an aircraft to take about 10 fellas from Alice to Tennant and return every week. These guys wont use the Centre Run because it doesn't suit their timetable of the other inbound jets from the major cities, and the fact that the Centre Run doesn't run on Thursdays, and has to leave too early of a wednesday afternoon to be useful to them.
The Centre Run (TL155) is an essential service that has been keeping the cost and delivery times of frieght down, moving people between their home towns and communities, and at times also moving sick and the infirm with speed and relative comfort between what amount to be very small population bases. The main client requirement between Alice and Darwin is just that - between Alice and Darwin, which QF has gotten pretty well serviced with the morning and evening 146.
The 'Territory itself (outside of Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs) is still effectively developing. The 'Territory Government, in it's infinite wisdom made a promise to its constituents a couple of years ago to do everything in its power to ensure the continued development of industry and business. About this time last year load factors hadn't been all that special on the Centre Run, so Air North called upon people who'd rather use other forms of transport to utilise the aircraft or the run would close. It was scaled back, and the government agreed to help fund the centre-run as an essential service to a developing Territory.
It cannot continue to lose money hand over fist the way it is, so dare I say it, it is only a matter of time before Tennant Creek and Katherine lose that valuable multi turboprop service, and start to feel the follow-on effects. Ask yourself: A Pa31/C402 in the wetseason, or as far above it as possible with pressurisation. The Metro has a similar DOC as a Conquest, so with more seats, the metro is in front there also.
Victor Two, a reality check for you: Once the service is gone, damand for it will lessen, not increase. Besides, the Australian taxpayer has been funding millions (if not billions) of dollars of flights for minority groups all across the 'Territory/W.A/Qld/S.A for many many years now (it is called the Remote Area Subsity Scheme - RASS), what makes TL155 any different? (i.e: mail/frt etc still travels on it)?
These areas, the Kimberley/Goldfields/Pilbara/Channell Country/Cape York/Arnhemland/The Gulf/Gascoigne etc etc are all much the same, they will all need services to develop them that folks who live in the larger regional centres and cities will all think is too extravagent to pay for, but they need them nonetheless.
Regards,
OpsN
