In retreat

As Vincent Aviation suspends its Australian services, for one town it’s déjà vu all over again

A crossroads town of 7,300 in northwestern New South Wales, Narrabri is known (admittedly, not very widely) for its olives, its wine, and the excellent pasta made from its locally-grown durum wheat. It sits in close proximity to two national parks and, somewhat more controversially, a large coal seam gas field targeted for a future ‘fracking’ project. As a regional centre, transport connections are its lifeline, and in addition to rail and road links, it boasts daily air services. Or it did, anyway. For the second time in six months, the good burghers of Narrabri are once again looking for an airline after the Australian arm of regional carrier Vincent Aviation went into receivership in late May. The New Zealand-based Vincent had only won the regional public transport contract for the Narrabri-Sydney route in February, following the collapse of previous contract holder Brindabella Airlines.

This is no commentary on Narrabri. The Narrabri council put out a statement noting steady growth in passengers on the route andsaid it was working with Transport for NSW to find an airline that could take it over. Local customers were “extremely pleased” with the services, it added. Rather, the collapse of Vincent Aviation was another reminder of the perilous state of small regional carriers across Australia.