Airfare cuts no fix says activist

A MOVE by Qantas to discount airfares for Queenslanders living in rural areas including Mount Isa will not fix the long-term structural problems causing flights to be exorbitantly priced.

Cloncurry resident and long-time fair airfare advocate Hamish Griffin said his campaign for reduced flight prices in outback Queensland was not over. “It doesn’t fix the structural problem,” he said.

“The solution for that going forward in my mind is the forcing of some regulated routes, Mount Isa to Cloncurry to Townsville would be a good example.

“Forcing the major airlines to provide inventory of pricing, and a lot of that stems from (airlines) being a lot more transparent.”

Qantas announced it would invest up to $10 million a year in providing flight discounts for residents in 16 towns across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

This will mean the maximum residents will pay will be $400 per sector when booking return journeys or $800 return. The program will begin immediately in Mount Isa, Cloncurry and Longreach.

Qantas is also negotiating fee reductions at Moranbah, Roma and Charleville.

This comes after a Federal Government inquiry into regional airfares found it is cheaper to fly return from Sydney to Los Angeles than Cloncurry to Townsville.

The report found the high costs had “a direct and detrimental effect” on residents and called on the Government to launch a Productivity Commission investigation.

Traeger MP Robbie Katter, who has described the Federal Government report as “wet lettuce”, said the move by Qantas would improve the situation but more needed to be done.

Mr Katter criticised the State Government, including Transport Minister Mark Bailey, for repeatedly refusing to step in to fix the issue and instead saying the market should sort it out.

“I’ve had to sit through it personally, and have seen my friends pay anywhere from $1500 return to Brisbane,” he said. Mr Katter supports forcing airlines to reveal their pricing inventory for air tickets sold in the rural areas.

Townsville-based LNP Senator Susan Mcdonald hailed the new airfare structure as an important first step to bringing “the Outback” closer to tourists.

“Regional Queensland remains geographically isolated, and in order to increase tourism and the liveability of remote towns, more work has to be done in the aviation sector,” she said.