A long time ago a visit to Europe by Australians involved six weeks at sea on an ocean liner and the cost was beyond the average persons reach. The innovation of multi seat passenger jets brought world travel to the masses. We can now reach most places in the world in a matter of hours and the seat cost has shrunk to be in comparison with most holiday plans.
The delight of travel and the mind expanding joy of seeing new places is marred by the misery of what is imposed on travellers faced with making their way through Sydney airport to catch their plane ride. They face the option of an expensive cab ride from where they live or the almost astronomical cost of parking their car at the airport until they return.
In todays security conscious world we are required to arrive hours before the flight and undergo the procedure of checking in. We are getting used to the task of emptying our pockets and purses and taking off our shoes on request. What we can take aboard the aircraft is ever changing. The worst is the endless queues until we are finally herded into a secure departure lounge to await the boarding call.
Cost in the airline industry is based on bigger planes with more seats filled by paying passengers, but times are changing. Boeing and Airbus are fast developing smaller fuel efficient aircraft and that could open the way for overseas travel from regional airports. Airbus has just released its newA220 for the Australian market and this is likely to replace the ageing 717's and the Fokker 100's feeding into city hubs. This A220 seats between a hundred and a hundred and fifty passengers and opens the door for direct flights from regional airports to overseas destinations.
Passengers contemplating a holiday in Bali may be offered two options. Book their flight with the many daily departures from Sydney airport and put up with the airport hassle, or arrange their holiday schedule around a less frequent service from their local regional airport with much easier access and a more civilized customs and security check ?
These smaller aircraft bring the promise of regional airport to regional airport services between the Australian states. At present, travel assumption are fixed on air travel between state capitals which require departure and landing at those overcrowded city airports. Holiday plans can just as easily be serviced by replacing capital city airports with regional hubs with consequent time saved and convenience gained.
Eventually, Sydney will be served by the new airport under construction but our ever growing population will ensure that both access and service provision will face large crowd numbers. The only way to decrease pressure on major city airports is to make better use of the regional hubs and the new aircraft under development have the economics and the seat numbers to make that possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment