ahennell
17th Jul 2003, 06:11
Brindabella Airlines today confirmed it will drop the Canberra to Wagga Wagga route due to low patronage.
From the Daily Advertiser (Wagga) this morning:
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Wagga's only direct air service to Canberra will be taking off for the last time on Friday due to poor passenger numbers.
Brindabella Airlines chief executive officer, Jeff Boyd, said the daily Wagga to Canberra service would be cancelled from Friday, after only 10 weeks of operation.
"There was not enough patrons so most days we didn't even run the service," Mr Boyd said.
"It was dismal, there was no interest from Wagga whatsoever."
Only 33 of the 100 planned flights from Wagga to Canberra and return left the tarmac since the service started on May 12.
"We only needed six passengers a day to keep the service going, but most times we would only get one passenger on board," Mr Boyd said.
Brindabella operated the nine-seat Piper chieftan aircraft on its Wagga to Canberra flights, which took about 45 minutes. The flight cost $174 one-way and $350 return.
Mr Boyd said the company anticipated business with branches in both cities would use the service, as well as air force personnel travelling between bases, but the passengers were not forthcoming.
The airline's Albury to Canberra service is still flying and has a guaranteed future, Mr Boyd said.
"Even though it's a bit slow at the moment due to school holidays, the Albury service generally gets half-loads of four, five or six passengers each flight," he said.
"It was less than 18 months since Albury lost its Canberra service, which we took up, but Wagga has been 10 years without a Canberra service since Western New South Wales Airlines cancelled it."
Wagga Mayor Kevin Wales said the cancellation of Brindabella's service was a great shame for the city.
"Council would have liked to have seen the airline succeed but you have to face reality," Councillor Wales said.
"Airline services are not enjoying a good time at the moment."
"It is commendable Brindabella Airlines showed an interest in Wagga in the first place and they were hopeful of getting passengers from government departments, especially defence."
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I agree, good on Brindabella for giving it a go - it's the only real way to know if a route will work.
I'm glad the CBR-ABX & CBR-NTL routes are going so well for them.
Andrew.
From the Daily Advertiser (Wagga) this morning:
-------------------------------
Wagga's only direct air service to Canberra will be taking off for the last time on Friday due to poor passenger numbers.
Brindabella Airlines chief executive officer, Jeff Boyd, said the daily Wagga to Canberra service would be cancelled from Friday, after only 10 weeks of operation.
"There was not enough patrons so most days we didn't even run the service," Mr Boyd said.
"It was dismal, there was no interest from Wagga whatsoever."
Only 33 of the 100 planned flights from Wagga to Canberra and return left the tarmac since the service started on May 12.
"We only needed six passengers a day to keep the service going, but most times we would only get one passenger on board," Mr Boyd said.
Brindabella operated the nine-seat Piper chieftan aircraft on its Wagga to Canberra flights, which took about 45 minutes. The flight cost $174 one-way and $350 return.
Mr Boyd said the company anticipated business with branches in both cities would use the service, as well as air force personnel travelling between bases, but the passengers were not forthcoming.
The airline's Albury to Canberra service is still flying and has a guaranteed future, Mr Boyd said.
"Even though it's a bit slow at the moment due to school holidays, the Albury service generally gets half-loads of four, five or six passengers each flight," he said.
"It was less than 18 months since Albury lost its Canberra service, which we took up, but Wagga has been 10 years without a Canberra service since Western New South Wales Airlines cancelled it."
Wagga Mayor Kevin Wales said the cancellation of Brindabella's service was a great shame for the city.
"Council would have liked to have seen the airline succeed but you have to face reality," Councillor Wales said.
"Airline services are not enjoying a good time at the moment."
"It is commendable Brindabella Airlines showed an interest in Wagga in the first place and they were hopeful of getting passengers from government departments, especially defence."
-------------------------------
I agree, good on Brindabella for giving it a go - it's the only real way to know if a route will work.
I'm glad the CBR-ABX & CBR-NTL routes are going so well for them.
Andrew.