Reece

So, on April 17 we attempted to book both Apex and Flexi Fare single tickets for travel around the 25th to 28th May on Canberra/ Perth, Brisbane/Melbourne and Perth/Brisbane routes. We considered these fairly typical routes for average Australians either wishing to explore another city or visit their far-off friends and relatives, etc. Perhaps naively we believed that with around six weeks lead time we would have at least achieved some measure of success considering the way Ansett in particular troops out their discount fares to justify the availability of discount air travel. The result-we actually did get a Flexi Fare from Brisbane to Melbourne on May 26, all the others were 100% no-go items. In fact the gentleman at reservations informed us that there was no availability of Apex fares on any route prior to the beginning of June! So much for cheap fares.

We decided to run this editorial for one reason only. And that is simply that we have had enough with having to listen to the domestics, and one in particular, trumping its variety and scope of discount fares as an alternative to some form of dismantling of the Two Airline Policy. The truth is that these fares are NOT readily available and they are largely kept very low-key as far as national advertising is concerned. Some proof of this is evidenced by one carrier having around 60% of its designated Flexi Fares out of Perth during 1985 remaining unsold. The principal reason they were unsold is that most people would not have honestly been aware of them to the point of realising their potential. Additionally, all these fares are only available at non-peak times. This is understandable as all airlines need to maximise their yield at the peak times but it still means that in an air transport environment where 75% load factors are the norm it is difficult to adequately set aside even small numbers of predesignated·discount seats.

Unfortunately, by and large, you have to be lucky to be able to actually get a cheap ticket – take your family and your chances diminish somewhat more. We are not trying to be a publicity vehicle for East-West but it IS what they (and the bulk of the tourist industry) have been saying now for several years – that there is a crying need for a third level of air transportation in Australia to cater specifically for those who are not managing directors or travelling on company tickets. Both TAA and Ansett have set world-class standards in economy travel. While they should be applauded for such service excellence, we question whether every passenger (or more importantly the large bulk of travellers still on the ground) really need such a high level of inflight service.

It has been our belief for a long time, and it is backed up by virtually everybody in the tourism industry with whom we speak, that there exists a marker slot for a true economy-class operation. As an example, new generation turboprops such as the British Aerospace ATP and the ATR72, each carrying around 64/70 passengers at 30in pitch (equivalent to roughly the standard 32in in the older design seats used in the present Fokker fleet) and crewed by two pilots and two flight attendants offer for the first time a real alternative to the larger jets. Most travellers would be quite happy with simply tea, coffee, biscuits or sandwiches on the longer meal time sectors.

These aircraft can service most of the major eastern routes in around two hours flight time and being low in initial acquisition and operating costs would be able to justify a standard economy budget fare typically a third or so less than the present jet economy fare. Additionally, as the aircraft are half the size of the jets they would generally be able to fly with higher overall load factors thereby further enhancing the potential cost efficiency of the operation. Introducing a 150-passenger high-technology jet to such a venture would be of doubtful fiscal practicality in the early stages of route development, a low-cost, established-technology aircraft half its size though is a different matter.

This is not a new idea though, people on both sides of the fence have been touting its potential for some years now. What makes it more feasible than ever is that the new generation of medium-sized turboprop airliners now make it possible without greatly sacrificing speed or comfort for the traveller.

Hopefully during the latter months of this year, Mr Tom May will hand down his judgment of where our present Two Airline Policy is headed after January 1st, 1990. We hope, like almost everybody else inside and outside the industry that he will call for some form of partial deregulation to allow for the very first time, some form of true competition to the aged policy that once served Australia well but is now considered by most as anti-competitive and an impediment to getting the bulk of Australians out of their cars, coaches and trains and into the air when next they plan to travel long distances.