Northern Territory tourism leader pleads for air ticket price cap between Alice Springs and Darwin
The two-hour flight between Alice Springs and Darwin costs residents more than to any other capital city - but a plan has emerged to change that. Take our airfare poll.
Northern Territory
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A leading Central Australian industry group has called on the Territory government to replicate a popular Western Australian scheme that caps airfares from regional centres to the state capital.
Tourism Central Australia chief executive Danial Rochford said WA’s Regional Airfare Zone Cap scheme could be replicated in the Northern Territory at a fraction of the cost.
The cap is a joint initiative between the WA Government and five airlines that service the state including Airnorth, Qantas and Virgin.
The scheme builds on each of the airlines’ resident airfare programs by capping the maximum resident fare at $199 for less than 1000km and $299 for journeys longer than 1000km.
Mr Rochford said a similar cap for Alice Springs residents travelling to Darwin would have a number of flow-on benefits including better connecting Alice Springs with the capital.
There is potential for the scheme to extend beyond Alice Springs to other regional centres.
Mr Rochford and Toursim Central Australia chairman Karl Bajzik met with Tourism Minister Nicole Manison Thursday to discuss the plan.
“We are one of the only towns in Australia that does not have an affinity back to its capital, which is an issue,” Mr Rochford said.
“The cost between the two is extremely high and it means people in Alice Springs very rarely travel to Darwin, their capital city. A lot of our affinity in Alice Springs is with places like Adelaide and Melbourne.
“If we suddenly had say $250 airfares between Alice Springs and Darwin one-way we’d start to see more people coming up here and that would have an economic boon for Darwin in terms of hotel rooms.
“We’d see people coming up and using international connections out of Darwin International Airport and, more importantly, it brings back that affinity back to the Capital and allows us to bridge the Berrimah line between the south and the north.
“What we’ve seen from the success of the Western Australian program, it has been universally accepted by remote and regional communities that this has been an amazing program to be able to connect back to the Capital, which allows people in a remote community to get away for the weekend.
“It means they can go up to the Darwin Festival or one of the other events and have a weekend away.”
Mr Rochford said the move would enhance the liveability of Alice Springs. It’s a great place to live and you do need to get away and been so remote, airfares are a critical piece of the puzzle.”
Flights from Alice Springs to Darwin are priced higher than an equivalent flight between Alice Springs and Adelaide. Based on Qantas flights scheduled for May 1 2023, Mr Rochford identified an approximately 20 per cent price disparity. Alice Springs to Darwin was approximately 60 cents per kilometre compared with 44 cents a kilometre from Alice Springs to Adelaide.
The Western Australian Government introduced the Zone Cap on July 1 for and applies to regional centres including Broome, Kununurra, Albany, Kalgoorlie, Monkey Mia and Mount Magnet.
The WA Government budgeted $19m to fund the program in its first year but Mr Rochford said it would cost a fraction of that given it could apply to only Alice Springs and possibly Gove.
In 2019 Territory-based regional carrier Air North introduced a locals fare for Nhulunbuy residnets and in March for Kunnanurra residents travelling to Perth.
Air North currently runs three services a week betwen Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. Fares between Alice Springs and Darwin currently start from $395.
Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson recently met with Qantas officials to discuss cuts to air services in Alice Springs.
In recent months Qantas has reduced Alice Springs services to and from Adelaide and Perth.
Comment has been sought from the NT Government, Qantas and Air North.
Originally published as Northern Territory tourism leader pleads for air ticket price cap between Alice Springs and Darwin
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