The state government wants its federal counterpart to investigate ways to encourage price parity, transparency and consistency for regional flights.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It has noted in a submission to a Senate inquiry into air route service delivery to regional communities, there were high regulatory compliance costs for smaller airlines and costs passed onto passengers should be clearly identified.
“The high costs of regulatory compliance can be challenging for smaller airlines, and differences in requirements between regulated passenger transport operators and charter operators as defined under [Civil Aviation Safety Authority] regulations may create uneven regulatory burdens for commercial operators,” the submission read.
The state government provides travel subsidies for residents on King and Flinders islands for pensioners, school staff, and families with children who don’t have schooling needs met on the island.
Flinders Island Tourism and Business president Michael Grimshaw said often flights to Launceston to Flinders Island were more expensive than to Essendon.
“The other impact on pricing is the low number of passengers during the winter months,” he said.
Mr Grimshaw said there needed to be ongoing support for regular passenger transport services to counter low passenger numbers, perhaps through marketing.
He acknowledged prices could be linked to a lack of competition.
Launceston Airport noted there had been a drop over three years in flights on the Melbourne route (4.5 per cent) and Sydney route (10.2 per cent).
Its submission said while passenger numbers from these destinations remained at historically high levels, the percentage of passengers on these routes had risen – 79.1 per cent on Melbourne flights and 84.7 per cent on Sydney flights.
It said it was generally accepted airline services increased when load factors were above 75 per cent.
"These higher load factors would be expected to put upward pressure on the price of airfares and constrain passenger growth," it said.