Budget 2017: Badgerys Creek airport ‘a magnet bringing jobs to area’

Navair managing director Rick Pegus is excited about breaking the Sydney Airport monopoly.

Navair managing director Rick Pegus at Bankstown Airport in Sydney’s west. Picture: James Croucher

As a pilot, the prospect of a second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek excites Rick Pegus. As the managing director of his own luxury charter jet company, ­Navair, the prospect of the government building the airport and breaking the Sydney Airport monopoly excites him even more.

“It will be an international ­airport — it will be good for the budget airlines,” he said. “It’ll be good for your western Sydney people who want to go to Brisbane or Melbourne. It’ll make airline tickets cheaper, there are a lot of fees involved.”

Mr Pegus, who has flown the likes of Jimmy Barnes and Bill Gates, is based at Bankstown Airport in Sydney’s southwest. His company has an annual turnover of $3-4 million. He says he would consider moving his hangar to Badgerys Creek if conditions were right.

“An airport is like a magnet. It’ll bring jobs to the area and infrastructure,” he said. “Airports give people excellent train services from there to the city. The people who live between Badgerys Creek and the CBD are going to get enhanced services.”

The impact will be felt internationally, he said. “It’s going to bring efficiency and choice to industries. The Americans would be scheduling their current freights to Sydney based on the curfew, but they basically lose about seven hours of the day they can’t operate. Other companies have the same problem.”

Operating out of Bankstown’s small airport is more economically viable for Mr Pegus, who employs four people full-time at Navair and contracts work to others when necessary. Sydney Airport is home to “old money” he said, and charges exorbitant fees to hire facilities. Comp­etition may be healthy, but “they’re still in the box seat”.

As a small business, he welcomes the government’s plan to cut company tax, but hopes to see more progress in the future. “It’ll have a small effect on us, but effectively we’ll hang on to 5 per cent more of our profits,” Mr Pegus said.

“At the end of the day it’s a bit of a revolving door of money, it’s not a large enough tax cut. If they came out and did what Donald Trump did and said it’s 15 per cent across the board, that’d be something.”

CASE STUDY: AVIATION

RICK PEGUS

AGE 41

LIVES Sydney

ELECTORATE Bennelong

Company Navair Jet Services

TUrnover $3-4 million

Issues Badgerys Creek Airport, small business tax