Miners to be slugged more for FIFO flights

[Hvr]

Mining companies are set to be slugged more for flying in the peak morning hours at Perth Airport as part of a bold bid to cut congestion that their fly-in fly-out workforces create for other travellers.

I wonder how this will affect our fellow AFFers if it comes to pass?

If charges increase to use slot at busy times I fear it will make flying more expensive for everybody.

 

[The Rok]

I really don't see what more the big mining companies can do. Virtually all scheduled rosters arrive & depart outside peak morning hour @ Perth!

It's the sheer volume of day trippers to site that causes congestion.

Charging more money will do absolutely NOTHING to ease congestion. All it will do is add more money into Perth Airports coffers and piss off the mining companies who are already starting to see a pinch in the bottom line.

Perth Airport may very well score an own goal here.

 

[wandering_fred]

Is Jandakot permitted to handle charter flights?

Fred

 

[anat0l]

Perth Airport may very well score an own goal here.

Except squeezing more money out of companies who are in a rock and a hard place to find a suitable alternative anyway (because we know they won't want to create bona fide mining towns), so they'll cough up.

Perth really needs to get more and bigger terminals out faster. Talk about twiddling your thumbs for too bl**dy long....

 

[oz_mark]

Charging more money will do absolutely NOTHING to ease congestion. All it will do is add more money into Perth Airports coffers and piss off the mining companies who are already starting to see a pinch in the bottom line.

Perth Airport may very well score an own goal here.

Quite normal in many business to charge more for wanting to operate in peak periods. Price signals to encourage using other times does sometimes work.

Perth really needs to get more and bigger terminals out faster. Talk about twiddling your thumbs for too bl**dy long....

The problem with some of the peak periods is more about the runway issue than the terminal issue. They're committed to new terminals, and it looks like they have turned their attention to a parallel runway.

 

[anat0l]

The problem with some of the peak periods is more about the runway issue than the terminal issue. They're committed to new terminals, and it looks like they have turned their attention to a parallel runway.

I guess there's a couple more issues there, then.

One suggestion I might've popped up is to make FIFO flights leave earlier in the morning and thus make the effective 'peak morning' period wider. Gotta feel sorry for the poor sods who might have to schlep to the airport for a 4am flight or the like. But, this is a fairly uninformed suggestion.

The problem that would create, along with the idea of the parallel runway, has to be the residential population around the airport, which isn't small. Surely there's gotta be someone making noise complaints, at least about approaching aircraft noise.

 

[oz_mark]

The problem that would create, along with the idea of the parallel runway, has to be the residential population around the airport, which isn't small. Surely there's gotta be someone making noise complaints, at least about approaching aircraft noise.

A couple of things feed into that. While Perth does not have a curfew, there are noise abatement procedures in place (hence some early turns off some of the runways just after takeoff). In addition, urban planning is supposed to have taken into account the expected noise from the parallel runway (and estate developers are supposed to have included noise statements when selling houses in the area).

 

[whatmeworry]

Except squeezing more money out of companies who are in a rock and a hard place to find a suitable alternative anyway (because we know they won't want to create bona fide mining towns), so they'll cough up.

Perth really needs to get more and bigger terminals out faster. Talk about twiddling your thumbs for too bl**dy long....

A relative of mine who used to play for Perth Glory and I think is now involved in the admin side, absolutely hates Perth Airport (Originally MEL).
Who controls Perth Airport?

I was thinking how we really need a relative major city (New or Existing) in the North West of WA. My thinking was that this city could be a transport hub for Australian Airlines to Europe/Africa/Middle East and mining towns. I don't know how viable this would be, unless this hub had a large enough population and enough business travel.

 

[mannej]

A relative of mine who used to play for Perth Glory and I think is now involved in the admin side, absolutely hates Perth Airport (Originally MEL).
Who controls Perth Airport?

I was thinking how we really need a relative major city (New or Existing) in the North West of WA. My thinking was that this city could be a transport hub for Australian Airlines to Europe/Africa/Middle East and mining towns. I don't know how viable this would be, unless this hub had a large enough population and enough business travel.

Does he have the initials AK by any chance?

As for who controls it -Westralia Airports Corporation I believe.

 

[The Rok]

Mining companies wont use this as an opportunity to look for alternative airport locations or create mining towns, they will simply look for reasons for fewer people to go to site for short trips. We are already seeing it.

There will be less "bull**** visits" by suits.

In addition, something that Rio, BHP & others will no doubt follow are starting to do is pay hefty sums to people to encourage them to move permanently to established mining towns such as Port Hedland & Karratha and then do short FIFO from there. That drastically reduces pax at Perth Airport. That will be the own goal

 

[eastwest101]

Mining companies wont use this as an opportunity to look for alternative airport locations or create mining towns, they will simply look for reasons for fewer people to go to site for short trips. We are already seeing it.

There will be less "bull**** visits" by suits.

In addition, something that Rio, BHP & others will no doubt follow are starting to do is pay hefty sums to people to encourage them to move permanently to established mining towns such as Port Hedland & Karratha and then do short FIFO from there. That drastically reduces pax at Perth Airport. That will be the own goal

Interesting perspective there The Rok - less seagull visits will be appreciated by some. Regarding the moves to encourage people to live in Port Hedland and Karratha, are they having any success with that? I would assume the lack of housing and ridiculous house prices would be the main impediment there.

I have been to several conferences where companies are talking about targetting areas of higher unemployment i.e. Tasmania and some regional QLD - and FIFO directly there which may reduce a little pressure at PER & BNE airports.

 

[wandering_fred]

I have been to several conferences where companies are talking about targetting areas of higher unemployment i.e. Tasmania and some regional QLD - and FIFO directly there which may reduce a little pressure at PER & BNE airports.

Albany in Southern WA already has at least one weekly FIFO flight.

Fred

 

[The Rok]

RIO already offer a SUBSTANTIAL allowance weekly for moving to Karratha and I believe BHP offer the same in Port Hedland.

It can be over $1,000 per week in some cases. RIO has already committed to a huge housing development in Wickham,just outside Karratha that will see somewhere in the region of 300 new homes for employees. That is just the start.

That takes 300 people out of the FIFO cycle. They will continue to do so as it offers better protection financially against an economic down turn, the less they pay on flights the better.

 

[whatmeworry]

Does he have the initials AK by any chance?

As for who controls it -Westralia Airports Corporation I believe.

Yes Mr AK47! lol