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Airports warned on price
TRAVELCONSUMERDAILY.COM JETSTAR has announced it will pull out of Rockhampton in Queensland because it can’t get an agreement on the aeronautical charges it is being levied and has put two other airports on notice that it may do the same to them. It is understood Hobart airport, which is run by a company part-owned by the Macquarie companies that control Sydney airport and backed by a Tasmania superannuation fund, has told Jetstar it plans to increase its aeronautical charges by 50% to pay for development of the airport. Jetstar has also been involved in tortuous price negotiations with Darwin Airport, which is part-owned by a number of superannuation funds and is chaired by former Melbourne airport chief executive Chris Barlow, for almost two years. Darwin is the most expensive of all Australia’s privatised airports for airline users, with charges per passenger arriving and departing amounting to almost $20, adding about $60 return to discount fares to Darwin by the time it has become part of the cost base the airline uses to set fares. NT Airport Pty Ltd, which runs Darwin, also controls Alice Springs, which has similarly high charges. It is understood Jetstar has been refusing to pay increases demanded by Darwin airport in its new schedule of charges, instead paying only for rates that were agreed to in the last signed agreement between airport and airline. NT Airports had wanted Jetstar to pay for a major redevelopment of the main Darwin airport terminal. Jetstar instead proposed to build its own terminal on the south side of the airport, but was blocked by the Defence Department, which owns the land and leases it to NT Airports. Jetstar is understood to be so frustrated with the intransigence of NT Airports that it has even looked at building its own airport, but says it can’t find suitable land near the city. Jetstar runs twice-daily services from Darwin to Singapore, a daily to Denpasar and five a week to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, connecting with dailies to Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It also flies four a week between Adelaide and Darwin. It is understood one of the areas of dispute has been over hefty passenger terminal charges that apply even if passengers are connecting with onward services and never leave the transit lounge. Jetstar will end its daily service from Brisbane to Rockhampton on May 9, replacing it with an extra daily service to Mackay. Qantas will add an extra eight services a week to Mackay and six a week to Rockhampton from April 6. Rockhampton airport is owned by Rockhampton Regional Council. It is understood Jetstar’s frustration with pricing concerned short-term incentive deals that were offered to get airlines like Tiger Airways "in the door". "Jetstar will continue to make tough decisions around our future flight network with appropriate outcomes on pricing at airports to enable low-fare seats for customers," Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said in a statement. "We’re committed to work closely with airports that we have partnered with to drive growth. Jetstar delivers benefits for communities in terms of tourism, employment and infrastructure and a strong partnership with airports is a critical part to achieve these things."
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