Wirraway
1st Nov 2004, 15:26
Tues "The Australian"
Local air travel numbers 'sky high'
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
November 02, 2004
DOMESTIC airlines recorded eight of the 10 busiest months in Australian aviation history in 2003-04 as a record 36 million passengers took advantage of increased competition and cheaper airfares.
Passenger numbers jumped 13.3 per cent for the year, with Australia's busiest routes on the Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane triangle all recording double-digit growth.
The growth came as the price of discount airfares fell to levels not seen since 2000.
Both trends continued into this financial year, with August's passenger numbers up 17.5 per cent on the previous year and the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics' September discount airfare index edging below 2000 levels after hitting a record low in July.
The Tourism and Transport Forum believes this will translate into more good news for the tourism industry, which gained an estimated $1billion from the rise in air travel in 2003-04.
TTF managing director Chris Brown said domestic tourism accounted for more than three-quarters of the market. "While domestic tourism has been relatively static in recent years, there is clear evidence that lower fares generate higher spending by visitors on other tourism-related areas such as accommodation, meals and entertainment," Mr Brown said.
"Increased capacity can grow the domestic tourism market. A robust and competitive aviation industry is critical for generating further growth."
Bureau figures released yesterday showed Australians flew 490,739 domestic trips in 2003-04, up 1.3 per cent on the previous year.
The relatively small increase in the number of trips compared with the double-digit rise in passengers reflects a tendency by airlines to use bigger aircraft.
Traffic, which is measured in terms of both passenger numbers and distance flown, rose 15 per cent to outstrip a 13.6 per cent growth in airline capacity.
This pushed up the percentage of seats filled over the year from 77.1 per cent to 78.1 per cent. But planes, on average, had fewer spare seats at the start of 2003-04 than they did at the end.
The percentage of seats filled by paying passengers peaked at more than 83 per cent in July 2003, when domestic tourism was benefiting from the affects of the SARS crisis on international travel.
This fell to just under 75 per cent by June this year with the addition of new Virgin Blue aircraft and the launch of Jetstar.
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Local air travel numbers 'sky high'
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
November 02, 2004
DOMESTIC airlines recorded eight of the 10 busiest months in Australian aviation history in 2003-04 as a record 36 million passengers took advantage of increased competition and cheaper airfares.
Passenger numbers jumped 13.3 per cent for the year, with Australia's busiest routes on the Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane triangle all recording double-digit growth.
The growth came as the price of discount airfares fell to levels not seen since 2000.
Both trends continued into this financial year, with August's passenger numbers up 17.5 per cent on the previous year and the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics' September discount airfare index edging below 2000 levels after hitting a record low in July.
The Tourism and Transport Forum believes this will translate into more good news for the tourism industry, which gained an estimated $1billion from the rise in air travel in 2003-04.
TTF managing director Chris Brown said domestic tourism accounted for more than three-quarters of the market. "While domestic tourism has been relatively static in recent years, there is clear evidence that lower fares generate higher spending by visitors on other tourism-related areas such as accommodation, meals and entertainment," Mr Brown said.
"Increased capacity can grow the domestic tourism market. A robust and competitive aviation industry is critical for generating further growth."
Bureau figures released yesterday showed Australians flew 490,739 domestic trips in 2003-04, up 1.3 per cent on the previous year.
The relatively small increase in the number of trips compared with the double-digit rise in passengers reflects a tendency by airlines to use bigger aircraft.
Traffic, which is measured in terms of both passenger numbers and distance flown, rose 15 per cent to outstrip a 13.6 per cent growth in airline capacity.
This pushed up the percentage of seats filled over the year from 77.1 per cent to 78.1 per cent. But planes, on average, had fewer spare seats at the start of 2003-04 than they did at the end.
The percentage of seats filled by paying passengers peaked at more than 83 per cent in July 2003, when domestic tourism was benefiting from the affects of the SARS crisis on international travel.
This fell to just under 75 per cent by June this year with the addition of new Virgin Blue aircraft and the launch of Jetstar.
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