avcraft & ultralights, are you serious? You reckon this will work?

It's got NOTHING to do with thinking positive & EVERYTHING to do with a sound business plan.

I hope this bloke is doing it with his own money.

I've never employed anybody off prune, you've got that much right :ok:

This was tried by Sovereign Airlines back in the early eighties with Navaho VH-MNT and Chieftan VH-TMN. The rego's were variations of the then owners name, Trevor Mathews.
Even then it was felt that Bendigo was a little to close to Melbourne for the operation to have any long term viability. It lasted a little under three years before it folded if I remember correctly.
You can drive to Tulla from the middle of Bendigo these days in an easy hour and a half. As DH pilot said, most people for whatever reason, will drive their car. Bendigo - Sydney, Bendigo - Adelaide or Bendigo - to somewhere else, maybe. But Bendigo - Melbourne still isn't going to work.

Advocate. As I expect you know better than I, a court would ultimately determine whether having a website from which you can't book yet is advertising. I think it's a case of regs not having caught up with the tech world. Is my personal website on which I have photos etc advertising? It was interesting that there was no link to their website in the article. If they had a corporate office in Main Street Bendigo, could they have signage on the windows or façade?

As for the business model. Bendigo to Melbourne CBD.

Option 1. Drive to Bendigo airport, checkin by 0630. Arrive 0730. 0745 at earliest by the time you are out the front (carry on) then arrange txport. Taxi or sky bus into CBD add 45 mins at peak hour. 0830 at best at CBD.

Option 2. Vline to Southern Cross. Departs Bendigo 0631. Arrive CBD 0812. You always have a seat, and it's an express so you don't have to worry about this :E

What am I missing?

Im not basing my comment on this one particular venture, but every time something, someone, new comes along with an idea, it immediatly gets shot down in flames before anyone has really had a thought about it. even the toowomba airport has attracted critics, i remember hearing a story of plans to build an international freight terminal near grifith, capable of landing 747 freighters, and flying fresh meat and produce direct to asia.
of course things will never work if they denied every chance they get.

i dont know anything about the bendigo plan, other than whats posted here, but why shoot it down before its even begun? if it fails, so be it, but give it a chance, you just never know, it might just be the foot in the door many people need, and god forbid, it might expand into other centres, and be another success story. it seams the last thing this industry wants, is a success story..

OK, lets start with 210. Firstly, I don't see anything in the web site that says Goldair is willing to undertake NOW a flight from Bendigo to Melbourne. They are saying that at some time in the future they will undertake such flights. At this point you can't be prosecuted for an intention to run an RPT service or any other commercial service if it comes to that, only for actually conducting such a service.

As to advertisements, forget the Oxford dictionary or any other for that matter. The law has long decided that an advertisement is an offer to treat. In other words it opens up negotiations but is not binding. In contract law there are 3 very basic elements; an offer to treat, an acceptance & consideration. For example, you go into a shop and see a sign that says "$5/kg for XXX". You go to the shopkeeper and say I want a kg of XXX please and here is $5. He says that will be $7 please. You say but the sign says $5. He says that is only an offer to treat, you offered $5 but my acceptance is only for $7.

The Directair example is not relevant as, apart from being a shocking decision at law, they were actually operating the flights. Goldair may be in the process of actually applying for a limited capacity RPT AOC and have no intention of doing anything until they have that document.

Please note I have nothing to do with the company and shall be watching developments with interest.

The flights are to Essendon not Tullamarine.

Hey Jack Ranga! I have no idea if it will work and I know nothing about them or their operation but I wish them the best of luck and good on them for giving it a go!

If you are talking about short commuter hops v driving what about Newcastle to Sydney with Aeropelican in twotters? That worked for years now in J32's I think-correct me if I am wrong.
I suppose they are just trying to use the same model off a lower population base.
The comments regarding negativity and cycnics on this forum are correct. I don't think this forum is a good and accurate reflection of the majority of pilots. Most I feel have given up on it.

Ret,

What's the population base on the Central Coast?

Who said anything about central coast?
I was comparing Bendigo Melbourne as a comparison to Newcastle Sydney.

OK, let me be more specific,

W h a t i s t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f N e w c a s t l e ?

Compare it to the population of Bendigo? When pelican were at their height what industry was in Newcastle? Have a look at the Central Coast and the population spread from Newcastle and north of? What other towns, cities are in proximity to Bendigo?

Clear enough for you?

newcastle has the resource / law industry to justify it, what does Bendigo have besides drunks?

NTL has a number of large retirement villages, the Silvertails love the weather up there. That's why JQ does pretty good on the NTL run, plenty of old biddies spending their super on holidays and specialist doctor visits interstate!
Bless em.

Absolutely. Proper big flying boats. I'd pay quite a bit for a ride in a Sunderland, even if I didn't want to go to Bendigo. :)

As I write this post, I;m sitting in a friends housein bendigo and we have been talking about this proposal all morning. My friend recokons that Bendigo to Melb wont be a goer as its quicker to drive. However, he does say that the Bendigo ppulation is crying out for a dirsct service to Sydney, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Brisie.

Why cant the gov develop these routes, get Sharps with their metro's, give them a start up development subsidy and a protected route designation for 5 years. The gov is quick to throw billions of $ at the car industry. Why not transport.

My mate says the BDG population travels extensively, he himself makes 6-10 trips to sydney each year alone and most of his friends have similar travel requirements.

Only problem is that some serious $ would need to be spent on BGD airport for an apron and terminal and another 400m of runway. But it would be money well spent, we asa country have to get out of this malaise we have and start building, fostering and encouraging development and progress.

Now ya talkin' :ok:

Of course lack of terminal space and slots at Sydney would be a problem.

Does YSSY have slots for say a 8am arrival, 9am departure and say a 5pm arrival with a 6pm departure. These would be the times needed to capture the business market out of Bendigo.

Bendigo - Sydney in a Bandit! Sounds like a winner!!!

Isn't Bendigo restricted to 5,700Kg MTOW?

Running some quick and dirty numbers on times for a BDG-SYD route looks pretty good from my end. Why not Bankstown though? Courtesy bus from Bankstown to the CBD and a ~6am Bendigo departure would have people in Sydney for their meetings or whatever by 9am. Can't see Bendigo to Melb ever working though. It just doesn't add up :bored: