Western Australia may have failed to register on the radars of the low-cost carrier airlines to the level witnessed in the eastern states, but Tourism WA’s new head of aviation development is determined to take advantage of this rapidly growing segment.
Western Australia may have failed to register on the radars of the low-cost carrier airlines to the level witnessed in the eastern states, but Tourism WA’s new head of aviation development is determined to take advantage of this rapidly growing segment.
Appointed to the role this month, aviation development executive director Rick Thomas said the state needed to boost the number and frequency of low-cost carriers servicing the state and increase its connections with Asian and global aviation networks.
Mr Thomas’ role was previously shared between airport operator Westralia Airports Corporation and Tourism WA, but has now been absorbed into Tourism WA, which will focus on increasing inbound traffic and keeping seat supply marginally ahead of demand.
Mr Thomas said the agency was currently in discussions with lowcost carriers Tiger Airways, Jetstar and Malaysian budget carrier, Air Asia X, to start up new services or provide additional capacity for the WA market.
“We believe Perth is underserviced by low-cost carriers compared to other states,” Mr Thomas said.
The arrival of Tiger Airways in Perth aviation earlier this year has already provided a valuable source of increased inbound traffic, with visitors from Singapore this year up 14 per cent on last year to 65,000 visitors.
Despite this growth, however, Mr Thomas believes the growth of low-cost carrier services throughout Asia has led many Asian travellers to bypass Perth, given the vast amount of choice and affordable travel options within the network.
“People are going to other destinations rather than WA; there’s so much choice,” he said.
“[Low-cost carriers] are massive in South-East Asia and we need to ensure were in the network.” Another key priority for the department is the introduction of new direct non-stop air linkages between WA and one of the biggest growth markets and key economic partner, China.
Currently there are no direct flights to Perth from either China or India, two of the world’s biggest economies and key high-priority emerging markets for both leisure and business travel.
Mr Thomas said a key driver of outbound international tourism into specific destinations was the presence of non-stop airline services and competitive airfares between the two markets.
“It’s critical for us to have the appropriate level of airline seats coming into the state.
The best way is through direct non-stop flights,” he said.
But attracting new airlines to WA is a highly competitive process, which usually involves Perth Airport, together with the federal government, offering incentives in the form of financial and marketing support or discounts on airport charges, and competing alongside other Australian and international airports.
“To start up new services is a huge risk for an airline,” Mr Thomas said.
“It’s a very competitive marketplace, not only nationally, but globally.” Raising awareness of WA as a travel destination in China and creating demand would increase the chances of a direct service, he said.
Also a priority will be the introduction of a direct Singapore- Broome service, which has been in the pipeline for a number of years.
Mr Thomas said this service was important not only as a point-to-point service, but provided the opportunity for it to feed into an airlines’ global network.
Tourism WA is working closely with Australia’s North West and Broome International Airport to grow domestic services from Sydney and Melbourne into Broome.
It is preparing to launch a feasibility study into a major airport located in the state’s South West to accommodate services from Melbourne or Sydney, and ultimately from overseas from cities such as Singapore.
The government will soon issue a tender for a feasibility study on a proposed airport to service Australia’s South West, with either Margaret River or Busselton the likely site.