Not all regional routes, surely? MEL-MQL, MEL-GFF, MEL-ABX, MEL-MGB, MEL-BWT are four that immediately come to mind that surely would not be subsidised by state governments (four of them are interstate and one extremely competitive). And are routes with multiple operators like SYD-DBO, SYD-PQQ, SYD-WGA, SYD-ABX really subsidised by state governments(deals with local councils not withstanding)?
Air services in Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria are fully deregulated. In South Australia two smaller routes are regulated without subsidy, by licensing them to single operators, while the remainder of the network is fully deregulated. In Queensland some routes are regulated without subsidy while others, to small centres in the more remote areas of that state, are regulated and subsidised. Still other higher volume routes are deregulated.
Western Australia licenses all routes, with only one of those services currently being subsidised. Certain service levels, including airfares are monitored on regulated routes in QLD, SA and WA. All interstate (or cross-border) air routes, including the main trunk services such as Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Brisbane come under Commonwealth Government responsibility and are fully deregulated. Its also important to note that both REX and Skywest are majority foreign owned. NSW also has some interesting regulations that explain why DJ are not in to much of a hurry until 2012/13:
The threshold for a route being allocated to one operator only by licensing is that the route operates at or below 50,000 passengers per annum
The 50,000 threshold was adopted in October 2002
Five-year licences (March 2008 - March 2013) currently apply
Where regulated routes now exceed the 50,000 level, the five-year commitment takes precedence over deregulating the routes
Regulated route licences will run their full term, subject to licence conditions.
The Government has committed to support of $44.7 million over four years through the Remote Air Services Subsidy Scheme (RASS) and $20 million over four years through the Remote Aerodrome Safety Program (RASP) for remote aerodromes and services essential for the social and economic well being of the communities they serve. In the 2009-10 Budget the Government provided $3.0 million to begin the process of upgrading airstrips in remote parts of the country, serviced by the RASS Scheme, through the Remote Aviation Infrastructure Fund (RAIF). Such a large pot of money would be hard to ignore if you are DJ, I dont think its the more popular NSW/VIC routes they are keen to get, its more than likely the capability to service QLD and WA where there is more activity from mining and less restrictive slot practices at the capital cities that are friendly to lower capacity aircraft movements.
