History is a funny thing,
Good old MMA, a real Airline, owned and operated in WA in the 1960s, was SUBSIDISED to the tune of $1000.00 A DAY in 1967 to operate DC-3s to the so called "Socially Neccessary" places in WA.
Laverton, Leonora, Esperance, Norseman, Cue, Wiluna, Sandstone, Mount Magnet, Yalgoo, Mullawa and a host of places further North.
Now we add Geraldton, Carnarvon, Albany and others.
Geraldton got two jets a day in 1989, ? today.
Times change, roads, cars and modern E-mail, tele conferencing have changed the social fabric, but the cross subsidy of the majors to the other places was a part of the past and seems to be still needed.