Flights between New Zealand and Australia and within that country could be hit by AUD150 million a year fee hikes, threatening to make travel unaffordable, says an airline group.
Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (AANZ) says recent cuts to Tasman routes from the Sunshine Coast and Cairns are examples of rising costs hitting marginal services. Airservices Australia’s proposal to double its service charges and impose AUD150 million a year in extra costs could price travellers out of the market.
AANZ Chairman Professor Graeme Samuel says the air traffic control fee rises come as airlines and passengers were already facing a wave of rising costs across the aviation system. “This is an extraordinary price hike from a government-owned entity that has too often failed to deliver the services airlines and travellers need and are already paying for,” he says. Other cost rises on top of fuel volatility, include higher government charges, increased security and costs, airport passenger charges, accessibility reforms and sustainability-related policy measures all adding pressure at the same time.
. . . Lost routes
In its most recent budget, the Australian Government increased the Passenger Movement Charge from AUD70 to AUD80 per traveller. In addition to the Tasman flights, Darwin–Singapore flights had been cut, along with a range of domestic routes servicing key areas such as Uluru, Alice Springs, Wollongong, Mount Gambier, Coffs Harbour, Devonport, Burnie and King Island, all due to rising costs on marginal routes.
“Air travel should not become a luxury. Governments and regulators must consider the cumulative impact of these decisions before more routes are lost, competition is weakened and travellers are priced out of the market,” says Samuel.
. . . Service Disruption
He says Airservices Australia has been repeatedly criticised for disruptions caused by air traffic control staffing failures. Flights have been delayed and cancelled due to Airservices rostering failures. “It is simply not good enough to ask travellers to pay dramatically more for a service that is failing to meet reasonable expectations.” He says it’s ‘extraordinary’ that service failures do not result in organisational changes; instead, they lead to a massive increase in charges for travellers and airlines.
