Tourism slump blamed on dumped airline
GEOFFREY THOMAS AVIATION EDITOR, The West Australian
January 18, 2011, 6:20 am
The State Opposition and tourism operators have warned of a slump in tourism to the Coral Coast after the Government decided to dump Skywest Airlines as the exclusive operator for flights to Carnarvon and the growing centres of Monkey Mia and Kalbarri.
Transport Minister Troy Buswell will announce in Geraldton today that Skippers Aviation will take over flights to the centres from Skywest from March 1.
Comment: Stability needed in flight routes
Mr Buswell, who could not be reached for comment, will also announce Qantas 717 jet services to Geraldton and Exmouth from the same date.
Yesterday, shadow tourism minister Ljiljanna Ravlich criticised the decision as "poorly thought out" and warned that it would have a negative impact on tourism.
Ms Ravlich's concerns relate to "downgrading of aircraft equipment" and Skippers' apparent lack of international connections to bring in tourists.
Skippers plans to use 30-seat Brasilias on the routes, supplemented by 50-seat Dash 8s on some Carnarvon services, whereas Skywest is using 50-seat Fokker 50s on all flights.
Skywest has been serving these loss-making routes as part of the Coastal Network Contract, which includes the profitable Geraldton and Exmouth routes.
However, the Government has de-regulated Geraldton and allowed Qantas to operate on the Exmouth route from March 1.
Skywest and Skippers declined to comment.
Aspen Parks, operator of the Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort and nine other tourism facilities in WA, has called for a guarantee that the existing minimum level of service and standards will be maintained.
A past winner of the Sir David Brand Award for tourism, Kalbarri Edge Resort director Jon Jessop, said the decision was the final nail in the coffin for tourism on the Coral Coast.
He said the Government had given no priority to ensure that the local tourism industry survived.
With FIFO competition heating up, could this be the saviour for Skippers?