With regional airports feeling the flow-on effects of the state’s growing resources sector, regional airlines are reaping the benefits of a buoyant air travel market, ramping up their services and growing their fleets to cope with the increase in demand.
With regional airports feeling the flow-on effects of the state’s growing resources sector, regional airlines are reaping the benefits of a buoyant air travel market, ramping up their services and growing their fleets to cope with the increase in demand.
The state’s largest home-grown regional airline, Skywest Airlines, has recently put on a raft of additional services, as well as re-introducing cancelled services and growing its jet fleet by 100 per cent.
In addition to increasing services to Albany, Esperance, Geraldton, and more recently Exmouth, Skywest has brought back its Perth to Port Hedland service.
Its jet fleet will grow to six aircraft by July next year, with the staged delivery of three Fokker 100s.
Managing director Hugh Davin said resources-related revenue has enabled the company to grow its capabilities, making Skywest better able to service the regional centres from a tourism perspective.
“Never before has the relationship between the resources sector and the rest of the network been as important,” he said.
Currently turning over almost $100 million a year, Mr Davin said the continued demand for air services could double turnover during the next few years.
But while there is no shortage of business, airlines are feeling the pressure of a lack of available pilots and engineers, as the demand for air crews increases worldwide.
Mr Davin said that, while Skywest was well placed to tackle staffing issues, they were of concern and could be a limiting factor in the future.
Regional airline Skippers Aviation is also feeling the pinch of pilot shortages, after recently increasing its fleet capacity by almost 30 per cent.
Skippers owns 21 aircraft, and expects to transport 260,000 passengers this year throughout WA via its charter, regular public transport and flexible aircraft services.
Chief executive Rob Swan said the company was currently focused on meeting its existing schedule and contract commitments.
“The demand for pilots worldwide is forecast to continue to grow for at least the next five years,” he said.
“Where once we could expect to have an average tenure of four to six years across our pilot group, the current demand has seen this drop to as low as one to two years in some cases.”
Mr Swann said Skippers was keen to develop tourism within the northern Goldfields network, where it operates a full RPT schedule between Perth and Meekatharra, Wiluna, Leinster, Leonora, Laverton and Mt Magnet.
Meanwhile, charter airline OzJet is looking to lift its presence in the WA market, eyeing additional services to Derby and a possible second regional service between Perth and Karratha.
OzJet made its first foray into the WA resources market earlier this year with a three-times-a-week service from Perth to Derby.
Ozjet’s WA general manager Richard George said the airline was also ready to launch its three-times-a-week service between Perth to Bali starting later this month, subject to regulatory approval.
The airline would also bring an additional Boeing 737 jet into Perth in November.
Late last month, Qantas announced it would add an extra 5,000 seats on WA intrastate flights by June 2008, increasing the number of services between Perth and Karratha, Port Hedland, Broome and Newman.
Qantas will also increase seat capacity on flights between Perth and Sydney and Melbourne by almost 25 per cent over the next two years.
