A terminal decision

Last flight from Bali tonight

JETSTAR’S last Bali- Townsville flight leaves tonight.

The Qantas owned carrier has pulled the pin on the route, which Townsville Airport says was well supported.

“Like the people of Townsville, we are disappointed to see the end of services to Bali,” Townsville Airport chief operating officer Kevin Gill said. “This route was well supported by the community right up until its final service.”

Mr Gill said the airport did everything it could to ensure the service was maintained.

“We were keen for this service to continue and made every effort, working with Townsville business leaders, to maintain it,” he said. “But those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.”

Mr Gill said the airport was determined to continue to attract carriers to the city.

“We are in discussions with various airlines about flying to Townsville Airport,” he said. “Our entire business development and marketing team is … at the Routes Asia conference in Brisbane.

“It is the biggest route development conference for airlines and airports in the region, representing Townsville Airport and ( we’re) talking to multiple carriers.”

Townsville Enterprise CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said it was disappointing the Bali route had ended.

“That route was well supported by the community and it was received with much excitement,” she said. “Unfortunately Jetstar made that decision and there was no other opportunity to … negotiate.”

Ms O’Callaghan said it was vital the city maintained its international airport status.

“We can’t be recognised as a global city if the global community cannot connect to us directly,” she said.

Ms O’Callaghan said the Hong Kong via Papua New Guinea link was “positive”.

“Sustainability is always a challenge but at the moment we are hearing positive things from Air Niugini,” she said.

A Jetstar spokesman said the Bali route was one of the worst- performing on its network and had been unprofitable for some time.

“We have tried to stimulate demand through marketing and sale fares, however, we were not able to make the route viable,” he said.

“Jetstar has been having discussions with Queensland Airports Ltd … and in July ( last year) formally requested their support.

“They responded with an offer, however, it fell short of what would be required to make the route sustainable.

“Their offer included some marketing funds to promote Townsville as a tourist destination in Bali.

“We informed the airport that this would not help make the route successful as there is very little or no demand for inbound tourism from Bali to Townsville, particularly given the difference between the cost of living between the two regions.”

The Jetstar spokesman said the airline constantly monitored demand across markets and would share news in the future if it considered expanding its network from Townsville.