Reece

Once considered a small, ultra-conservative regional operator content on serving a number of non-competitive routes within New South Wales, EWA has in recent years been the battleground for a major takeover and later a surprise sale. On both occasions, the people involved were from unexpected sources and their operating philosophy was somewhat different from that of their predecessors.

Today EWA is firmly destined for greater things if its dynamic Managing Director, Dennis Howe, has anything to do with it. At 42 years of age, Howe has had nearly two decades practical experience in aviation and a fresh attitude to problem-solving that this editor personally finds refreshingly different. It’s not so much the traditionally cosy two-airline attitude of “your plane can go at 2 o’clock and ours will go at two minutes past” that has epitomised the fortunes of TAA and Ansett these past decades but an entirely new viewpoint that is looking to new markets, new prices and new schedules designed around people rather than the status quo. In saying that, we appreciate the very real restrictions that both the domestics operate under given the present Two Airline Policy, but somewhere along the line, you get the distinct impression that neither really wishes to change it!

EWA logged passenger growth of an astounding 30% in 1983/ 84 and has targeted an increase of 37% for the present financial year. Unbelievable growth in view of the competition which slipped back to 1979 figures by 1983 and presently look set for an increase of 5 to 10% for 1984/85. Projecting growth of course is one thing but achieving it is clearly another, so, is EWA on track? At the time of writing some interesting numbers were on the board that confirm their market approach is definitely working. Uplift in the all-important Revenue Tonne Kilometres (RTK) for November 1984 was plus 31% on the same month in 1983, while December RTKs were up 40% (helped a little by the TAA strike) on the previous year.

Where do the people come from, how exactly is this startling growth achieved in such a regulated environment?

Primarily, explains Howe, the growth comes from pioneering new routes, routes that are not adequately serviced by the domestics. Additionally, the carrier has increased frequency to the point where it is now a catalyst for its own increased growth. Wherever increased frequency has been used, it has achieved additional traffic growth, as witnessed the efforts of MVA and Kendell Airlines in Victorian regional operations. The effects of enhanced frequency at work are probably best mirrored by the Sydney/Canberra route. This heavily discounted route originally had 12 services weekly with a load factor of around 65%. To spirit it along EWA doubled the frequencies to 24 and yet have maintained that 65% load factor. A better spread of times has literally developed a new market combined with the possibility of saving considerably on a standard economy fare. The Sydney/ Coolangatta and Sydney/Hobart routes have undergone a similar transformation with equally pleasing results for the EWA traffic monitors.

As regards new routes that serve the traveller first – the Sydney/Tasmania sectors now offer a wide variety of direct services that provide an alternative to the usual Melbourne stopovers. This saves time, adds to passenger convenience and obviously allows EWA to charge a lower fare than the competition. Indeed EWA fares are comparatively 10 to 32% lower than those charged by the domestics where they fly the same sector. This, plus a number of innovative promotional fares such as the Kids Fare ($10 for a child up to 18 years accompanied by an adult) which from early November through to mid-December saw 10,000 ticket sales, 80% of which were to people who had not travelled by air before, are all spurring on the growth that EWA has well and truly within its sights.

The other growth area, and one largely untouched by the domestics, is the transcontinental market. How many nonbusiness travelling Australians want to see Ayres Rock on their way to Perth, while at the same time saving a considerable amount of money in the process? The answer is obviously a lot as EWA have had maximum capacity loads on their Sydney/ Yulara/Perth sector since its initiation on December 1 last year. For $399 return you can now fly to Perth and enjoy a visit to one of Australia’s most fascinating and remote regions at the same time. The passenger uplifts from Day One must tell the story that there had existed a need for such a service long ago, yet only now has this been heeded by what can only be termed a dramatic change in ‘attitude’ towards what can and can’t be done with an airline in Australia.

Hopefully, by the end of this year the Dept. of Aviation will have released its blueprint for Australia’s civil aviation policy in a post-Two Airline Policy era. The remarkable achievements being pioneered by EWA today will, hopefully, provide a test case for what is possible in the years ahead.

A Real Horror Story

Forget Ghostbusters and Gremlins, if you want a REAL horror story then turn to page 28 of this issue. ‘Two Years in the Aviation Hall of Doom” is enough to make you question the reality of the democracy we are said to live within. Author Dick Smith has spent more than two years compiling this excellent, if frightening, book in a effort to get an external commission of review into the

practices of the Department of Aviation.

The fully documented case histories sound like scripts from the popular TV satire “Yes, Minister,” only they are real and we, you and file, are the people who are paying the price of a Department that Is ruled by senior bureaucrats totally dedicated to nonaccountability.

I implore every person involved in this great industry of ours to carefully read this series – the decisions you then take may well shape the destiny of our industry in the years ahead.