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West Australia wants open skies
Further to last weeks story on rumblings in the Govt over increased competition for Qantas, the WA Government has thrown its support behind further deregulation of the aviation industry across Australia.
WA Treasurer Eric Ripper will write to his Federal counterpart Peter Costello to support moves that would allow international carriers such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates Airlines to fly domestic routes.
Mr Ripper said the increased competition should lead to lower airfares for Perth passengers.
“Cutting fares will be a boost for WA tourism and be a big plus for Western Australians who struggle to find enough money to visit friends and family in the eastern States,” he said.
“While I acknowledge that greater domestic competition will not be in the interest of Qantas, this is outweighed by the benefits of removing the present barrier to competition on our key airline routes.”
Only last week, West Australian MP Geoff Prosser, said he hoped Singapore Airlines and Emirates would be allowed to do more here.
“It’s well and truly high time they are given more access,” he said.
Emirates officials said this week that if their airline was able to fly domestically in Australia that prices, particularly for the longer haul routes such as Perth-Sydney, would fall due to the competition created.
More competition would give passengers greater freedom to choose airlines based on price, service, schedule and frequency, Mr Ripper said.
In addition, more competition would be a bonus for the many business class travellers unable to get a seat upfront since the demise of Ansett, something that OzJet has already siezed upon as an itch waiting to be scratched.
The Mole
Graham Muldoon
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