Airfare cap petition and deals for Pilbara families in crisis draw huge community support

Updated

An online petition and Facebook page to negotiate better deals on high-cost airfares for regional West Australians is gaining traction.

Key points: Karratha's Mayor says airlines are not being cooperative

Pilbara residents are paying more than $1,000 to fly return to Perth

Residents are calling for a ceiling price on airfares

Almost 10,000 signatures have been received on the petition, started by Karratha resident Chris Pickett, to get lower fares on flights for residents and families in crisis in Pilbara towns like Karratha, Paraburdoo, Newman and Port Hedland.

Mr Pickett said the issue had a real effect on the community and was not just a "moan and groan".

He started the Facebook page — which now has 4,500 followers — after hearing stories from people who said they felt isolated and alone in the Pilbara and were attributing it largely to the cost of airfares.

After collecting many harrowing stories through social media, he submitted a paper to the Parliamentary Inquiry Into Regional Airfares, which responded by saying it would be considered.

Mr Pickett said residents of the Pilbara missed out on the public transport options enjoyed by city residents and he believed the state could subsidise airfares.

He said the Federal Government had not given him feedback on the issues he highlighted.

Earlier this year, a report was handed down by a Senate committee that spent more than 18 months investigating air services in regional Australia, putting the world-topping fares down to genuine market forces and economies of scale.

Mr Pickett is asking for a $500 cap where currently fares can be as high as $1,100.

"The idea is to get a reasonable cap for everybody so you can do some national planning for the future," he said.

"It's very difficult to do that when you don't know whether you're paying $500 or $1,100."

Mr Pickett is also asking airlines for family emergency discount fares when passengers need to fly to Perth or interstate to attend births, deaths or family crises.

He has spoken to Karratha Mayor Peter Long and said he believed the shire was doing as much as it could but was not getting much cooperation from the airlines.

The City of Karratha tried to subsidise the airline JetGo before it went into voluntary administration in 2018.

Mr Pickett pointed to Qantas's recent removal of the $99 fee for changing flight times.

He said it was irrelevant to the wider issue and he wanted to see stability in pricing from the airlines made available to residents and their families.

Crisis situations need pricing help

Amy Padfield lives in the tiny regional town of Tom Price and said she was used to travelling the 70 kilometres to the closest airport at Paraburdoo.

However, she was shocked to learn her husband paid $900 for a one-way ticket to get to Perth in time for the early birth of their twins.

Nicole Banks from Karratha has foregone many trips to visit her elderly mother since her father died six years ago due to the cost.

The single mother of two teenagers said a return trip from Karratha to Hobart would have been around $4,000 for the family.

Ms Banks said while she had a good job that allowed her to pay for her children's sporting trips to Perth with their school, many others could not afford the average cost of $1,300 per child.

After flying from Karratha to Singapore for one week for $2,600, Ms Banks said it seemed unfair to be charged $4,000 for her family to visit Hobart.

Isolation from families 'plays havoc'

Karen Davies has two daughters and grandchildren living in Perth and said she had missed most of their lives due to her decision to move to Karratha, not realising at the time the high cost of flights.

"We don't work for the mines, we just have everyday jobs on everyday Perth wages," Ms Davies said.

"The saddest moment of my life was when I received a knock on the door from the police advising me that my adult daughter had just tried to take her own life.

"I don't have a lot of cash [and] I spent two hours trying to get a flight to Perth.

"I was broken-hearted when the best discount Qantas could give me in such an emergency was $20."

Now back in Karratha, Ms Davies said she could not afford to travel frequently to Perth to assist with her daughter's rehabilitation.

"There's no excuse for flights overseas being cheaper than flights in our own country," she said.

Ms Davies said the high cost of flights led to poor mental health for regional people not able to see their families interstate or in city centres.

"It's horrendous, it does play havoc with our lives," she said.

"I know I'm one of many women up here who feel isolated because they don't have their family.

"Karratha is a wonderful place to live, but right now I feel like I'm going to die an old, lonely woman."

WA Department of Transport director of aviation Peter Ryan said both airlines had compassionate fares when a traveller could negotiate cheaper fares in a family emergency.

Airlines receptive to changes

Mr Pickett said airlines had been receptive to his requests and he was expecting a response soon which he would share publicly.

"The issue is really around access to support in emergency situations, something that's fairly responsive where people need to get an answer quickly," he said.

Mr Pickett pointed to anomalies around pricing that made it cheaper to fly on the same flight to Melbourne than to fly from Karratha to Perth.

"We want a ceiling price on airfares all around."

He said he wanted to see current resident discounts extended to family members coming to the Pilbara to support local families.

This could be potentially capped at four visits per year which Mr Pickett said was not a "long stretch" for airlines.

"They should be mums, dads and grandparents wanting to visit their kids in the Pilbara."

Government strategy due in 2020

Workshops on high airfares have been held recently by the WA Department of Transport in Port Hedland, Karratha, Onslow, Newman and Paraburdoo.

"We did recognise that the Pilbara in particular has high levels of community concern," Mr Ryan said, adding that the main concern of residents was having to travel at short notice.

In the south of the state on routes from Perth to Albany, Esperance, Carnarvon and Monkey Mia, an "innovative approach" reduces fares in the last 24 hours before a flight.

Mr Ryan said there was a significant impact on aviation in the Pilbara by the large numbers of FIFO workers from the mining industry.

Virgin has offered lower fares on the lower-demand days of Mondays and Thursdays of $239 from Karratha to Perth and advance bookings of 45 to 60 days will be priced at $250 and $269.

A state aviation strategy will be released by the department with options to reduce airfares early in 2020 with another opportunity for feedback to government.

In a statement, Qantas said its resident fare program was the best way to get the lowest possible fare year-round.

It said the program offered between 20 and 30 per cent discounts on return fares to Perth.

A statement from Virgin said the recommendations put forward by the Senate committee would form the basis of its discussions with the Government.

How much do regional flights actually cost? The Federal Government gathers price information on the 70 most popular routes across Australia each month. In July 2018, the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) collected a wider sample, looking at more than 300 routes across the country. In February 2019, 4.7 million passengers were carried on Australian domestic commercial flights. More than 1.7 million moved through regional airports. You can search those fares using the table below to get an idea of just how much it costs to fly around Australia. We do need to tell you a few things about the data: These are the cheapest available return fares for each route

for each route The fares are based on a departure date of the last Thursday of the month, the return date is two weeks later

BITRE collects the price data three weeks prior to the departure date

These numbers represent the July 2018 average prices, based on available data

Up-to-date fare data is available from BITRE Travelling from: Destination Route Adjusted price Adelaide Alice Springs Adelaide - Alice Springs $504 Adelaide Avalon Adelaide - Avalon $95 Adelaide Brisbane Adelaide - Brisbane $180 Adelaide Broken Hill Adelaide - Broken Hill $353 Adelaide Cairns Adelaide - Cairns $422 Adelaide Canberra Adelaide - Canberra $389 Adelaide Ceduna Adelaide - Ceduna $382 Adelaide Coober Pedy Adelaide - Coober Pedy $553 Adelaide Darwin Adelaide - Darwin $886 Adelaide Gold Coast Adelaide - Gold Coast $288 Adelaide Hobart Adelaide - Hobart $376 Adelaide Melbourne Adelaide - Melbourne $101 Adelaide Mildura Adelaide - Mildura $352 Adelaide Mount Gambier Adelaide - Mount Gambier $356 Adelaide Olympic Dam Adelaide - Olympic Dam $370 Adelaide Perth Adelaide - Perth $392 Adelaide Port Augusta Adelaide - Port Augusta $317 Adelaide Port Lincoln Adelaide - Port Lincoln $294 Adelaide Sunshine Coast Adelaide - Sunshine Coast $327 Adelaide Sydney Adelaide - Sydney $156 Adelaide Whyalla Adelaide - Whyalla $288 Albury Perth Albany - Perth $356 Albury Melbourne Albury - Melbourne $237 Albury Sydney Albury - Sydney $300 Alice Springs Ayers Rock Alice Springs - Ayers Rock $451 Alice Springs Brisbane Alice Springs - Brisbane $1,195 Alice Springs Cairns Alice Springs - Cairns $975 Alice Springs Darwin Alice Springs - Darwin $700 Alice Springs Melbourne Alice Springs - Melbourne $644 Alice Springs Perth Alice Springs - Perth $857 Alice Springs Sydney Alice Springs - Sydney $749 Alice Springs Tennant Creek Alice Springs - Tennant Creek $654 Armidale Brisbane Armidale - Brisbane $502 Armidale Sydney Armidale - Sydney $301 Aurukun Cairns Aurukun - Cairns $1,162 Aurukun Lockhart River Aurukun - Lockhart River $422 Aurukun Weipa Aurukun - Weipa $210 Avalon Gold Coast Avalon - Gold Coast $236 Avalon Sydney Avalon - Sydney $99 Ayers Rock Cairns Ayers Rock - Cairns $1,304 Ayers Rock Melbourne Ayers Rock - Melbourne $502 Ayers Rock Sydney Ayers Rock - Sydney $635 Badu Island Boigu Island Badu Island - Boigu Island $634 Badu Island Kubin Island Badu Island - Kubin Island $496 Badu Island Mabuiag Island Badu Island - Mabuiag Island $496 Badu Island Saibai Island Badu Island - Saibai Island $549 Badu Island Thursday Island Badu Island - Thursday Island $414 Badu Island Warraber Island Badu Island - Warraber Island $791 Badu Island Yam Island Badu Island - Yam Island $827 Badu Island Yorke Island Badu Island - Yorke Island $1,114 Ballina Sydney Ballina - Sydney $135 Bamaga Cairns Bamaga - Cairns $692 Bamaga Thursday Island Bamaga - Thursday Island $210 Barcaldine Brisbane Barcaldine - Brisbane $204 Bathurst Sydney Bathurst - Sydney $280 Bathurst Island Darwin Bathurst Island - Darwin $323 Bedourie Birdsville Bedourie - Birdsville $222 Bedourie Boulia Bedourie - Boulia $200 Birdsville Windorah Birdsville - Windorah $222 Boigu Island Saibai Island Boigu Island - Saibai Island $531 Boigu Island Thursday Island Boigu Island - Thursday Island $664 Boulia Mount Isa Boulia - Mount Isa $266 Brisbane Biloela Brisbane - Biloela $402 Brisbane Cairns Brisbane - Cairns $226 Brisbane Canberra Brisbane - Canberra $411 Brisbane Charleville Brisbane - Charleville $476 Brisbane Coffs Harbour Brisbane - Coffs Harbour $341 Brisbane Darwin Brisbane - Darwin $413 Brisbane Emerald Brisbane - Emerald $347 Brisbane Gladstone Brisbane - Gladstone $294 Brisbane Hamilton Island Brisbane - Hamilton Island $262 Brisbane Hervey Bay Brisbane - Hervey Bay $287 Brisbane Hobart Brisbane - Hobart $453 Brisbane Inverell Brisbane - Inverell $341 Brisbane Launceston Brisbane - Launceston $322 Brisbane Longreach Brisbane - Longreach $636 Brisbane Lord Howe Island Brisbane - Lord Howe Island $948 Brisbane Mackay Brisbane - Mackay $217 Brisbane Melbourne Brisbane - Melbourne $192 Brisbane Moranbah Brisbane - Moranbah $803 Brisbane Moree Brisbane - Moree $341 Brisbane Mount Isa Brisbane - Mount Isa $747 Brisbane Narrabri Brisbane - Narrabri $341 Brisbane Newcastle Brisbane - Newcastle $135 Brisbane Norfolk Island Brisbane - Norfolk Island $787 Brisbane Orange Brisbane - Orange $543 Brisbane Perth Brisbane - Perth $574 Brisbane Port Hedland Brisbane - Port Hedland $1,275 Brisbane Port Macquarie Brisbane - Port Macquarie $349 Brisbane Proserpine Brisbane - Proserpine $230 Brisbane Rockhampton Brisbane - Rockhampton $332 Brisbane Roma Brisbane - Roma $768 Brisbane Sydney Brisbane - Sydney $130 Brisbane Toowoomba Wellcamp Brisbane - Toowoomba Wellcamp $297 Brisbane Townsville Brisbane - Townsville $277 Broken Hill Dubbo Broken Hill - Dubbo $792 Broken Hill Mildura Broken Hill - Mildura $348 Broken Hill Sydney Broken Hill - Sydney $789 Broome Fitzroy Crossing Broome - Fitzroy Crossing $999 Broome Halls Creek Broome - Halls Creek $999 Broome Kununurra Broome - Kununurra $745 Broome Melbourne Broome - Melbourne $1,491 Broome Perth Broome - Perth $836 Broome Sydney Broome - Sydney $1,171 Bundaberg Brisbane Bundaberg - Brisbane $297 Burketown Doomadgee Burketown - Doomadgee $252 Burketown Mornington Island Burketown - Mornington Island $362 Cairns Coen Cairns - Coen $853 Cairns Cooktown Cairns - Cooktown $276 Cairns Darwin Cairns - Darwin $674 Cairns Gold Coast Cairns - Gold Coast $357 Cairns Gove Cairns - Gove $1,087 Cairns Groote Eylandt Cairns - Groote Eylandt $333 Cairns Hamilton Island Cairns - Hamilton Island $708 Cairns Kowanyama Cairns - Kowanyama $603 Cairns Lockhart River Cairns - Lockhart River $959 Cairns Melbourne Cairns - Melbourne $426 Cairns Mount Isa Cairns - Mount Isa $749 Cairns Normanton Cairns - Normanton $710 Cairns Perth Cairns - Perth $563 Cairns Sydney Cairns - Sydney $363 Cairns Thursday Island Cairns - Thursday Island $472 Cairns Toowoomba Wellcamp Cairns - Toowoomba Wellcamp $442 Cairns Townsville Cairns - Townsville $293 Cairns Weipa Cairns - Weipa $491 Canberra Dubbo Canberra - Dubbo $341 Canberra Gold Coast Canberra - Gold Coast $497 Canberra Melbourne Canberra - Melbourne $171 Canberra Newcastle Canberra - Newcastle $402 Canberra Perth Canberra - Perth $732 Canberra Sydney Canberra - Sydney $311 Charleville Quilpie Charleville - Quilpie $225 Charleville Roma Charleville - Roma $390 Charleville Toowoomba Wellcamp Charleville - Toowoomba Wellcamp $464 Cloncurry Mount Isa Cloncurry - Mount Isa $195 Cloncurry Townsville Cloncurry - Townsville $442 Coconut Island Murray Island Coconut Island - Murray Island $1,100 Coconut Island Thursday Island Coconut Island - Thursday Island $470 Coconut Island Warraber Island Coconut Island - Warraber Island $496 Coconut Island Yam Island Coconut Island - Yam Island $496 Coconut Island Yorke Island Coconut Island - Yorke Island $666 Coffs Harbour Melbourne Coffs Harbour - Melbourne $161 Coffs Harbour Sydney Coffs Harbour - Sydney $171 Coober Pedy Port Augusta Coober Pedy - Port Augusta $319 Cooma Sydney Cooma - Sydney $407 Croker Island Darwin Croker Island - Darwin $686 Croker Island South Goulburn Is Croker Island - South Goulburn Is $434 Cunnamulla Saint George Cunnamulla - Saint George $222 Cunnamulla Thargomindah Cunnamulla - Thargomindah $222 Darnley Island Murray Island Darnley Island - Murray Island $549 Darnley Island Thursday Island Darnley Island - Thursday Island $880 Darnley Island Yorke Island Darnley Island - Yorke Island $549 Darwin Elcho Island Darwin - Elcho Island $617 Darwin Garden Point Darwin - Garden Point $363 Darwin Gove Darwin - Gove $876 Darwin Groote Eylandt Darwin - Groote Eylandt $745 Darwin - Katherine Tindal Darwin - Katherine - Tindal $460 Darwin Kununurra Darwin - Kununurra $430 Darwin Lake Evella Darwin - Lake Evella $1,150 Darwin Maningrida Darwin - Maningrida $442 Darwin Melbourne Darwin - Melbourne $567 Darwin Milingimbi Darwin - Milingimbi $1,150 Darwin Perth Darwin - Perth $814 Darwin Ramingining Darwin - Ramingining $1,150 Darwin Snake Bay Darwin - Snake Bay $363 Darwin South Goulburn Is Darwin - South Goulburn Is $726 Darwin Sydney Darwin - Sydney $570 Darwin Tennant Creek Darwin - Tennant Creek $740 Darwin Townsville Darwin - Townsville $704 Devonport Melbourne Devonport - Melbourne $329 Doomadgee Mornington Island Doomadgee - Mornington Island $344 Doomadgee Mount Isa Doomadgee - Mount Isa $521 Dubbo Newcastle Dubbo - Newcastle $301 Dubbo Sydney Dubbo - Sydney $332 Edward River Weipa Edward River - Weipa $634 Elcho Island Maningrida Elcho Island - Maningrida $563 Esperance Perth Esperance - Perth $381 Essendon Orange Essendon - Orange $623 Essendon Portland Essendon - Portland $279 Fitzroy Crossing Halls Creek Fitzroy Crossing - Halls Creek $999 Flinders Island Essendon Flinders Island - Essendon $514 Flinders Island Launceston Flinders Island - Launceston $316 Garden Point Snake Bay Garden Point - Snake Bay $222 Geraldton Perth Geraldton - Perth $381 Gold Coast Sydney Gold Coast - Sydney $106 Gove Groote Eylandt Gove - Groote Eylandt $977 Grafton Lismore Grafton - Lismore $151 Grafton Sydney Grafton - Sydney $380 Griffith Narrandera Griffith - Narrandera $149 Griffith Sydney Griffith - Sydney $362 Hamilton Island Melbourne Hamilton Island - Melbourne $392 Hamilton Island Sydney Hamilton Island - Sydney $296 Hervey Bay Sydney Hervey Bay - Sydney $353 Hobart Melbourne Hobart - Melbourne $122 Hobart Sydney Hobart - Sydney $218 Hughenden Richmond Hughenden - Richmond $160 Hughenden Townsville Hughenden - Townsville $318 Julia Creek Richmond Julia Creek - Richmond $189 Kalgoorlie Melbourne Kalgoorlie - Melbourne $620 Kalgoorlie Perth Kalgoorlie - Perth $449 Karratha Perth Karratha - Perth $655 Karumba Mornington Island Karumba - Mornington Island $444 Karumba Normanton Karumba - Normanton $290 Katherine - Tindal Tennant Creek Katherine - Tindal - Tennant Creek $644 King Island Burnie King Island - Burnie $442 King Island Essendon King Island - Essendon $277 King Island Launceston King Island - Launceston $577 King Island Melbourne King Island - Melbourne $199 King Island Moorabbin King Island - Moorabbin $353 Kubin Island Mabuiag Island Kubin Island - Mabuiag Island $496 Kubin Island Saibai Island Kubin Island - Saibai Island $817 Kubin Island Thursday Island Kubin Island - Thursday Island $414 Kubin Island Warraber Island Kubin Island - Warraber Island $791 Kubin Island Yam Island Kubin Island - Yam Island $827 Kununurra Perth Kununurra - Perth $918 Launceston Melbourne Launceston - Melbourne $192 Launceston Sydney Launceston - Sydney $216 Laverton Perth Laverton - Perth $975 Learmonth Perth Learmonth - Perth $564 Leonora Laverton Leonora - Laverton $136 Leonora Perth Leonora - Perth $847 Lismore Sydney Lismore - Sydney $399 Longreach Winton Longreach - Winton $161 Lord Howe Island Sydney Lord Howe Island - Sydney $948 Mabuiag Island Thursday Island Mabuiag Island - Thursday Island $668 Mackay Rockhampton Mackay - Rockhampton $305 Mackay Townsville Mackay - Townsville $280 Meekatharra Perth Meekatharra - Perth $821 Meekatharra Wiluna Meekatharra - Wiluna $276 Melbourne Ballina Melbourne - Ballina $262 Melbourne Burnie Melbourne - Burnie $290 Melbourne Gold Coast Melbourne - Gold Coast $170 Melbourne Merimbula Melbourne - Merimbula $375 Melbourne Mildura Melbourne - Mildura $256 Melbourne Mount Gambier Melbourne - Mount Gambier $355 Melbourne Newcastle Melbourne - Newcastle $124 Melbourne Perth Melbourne - Perth $373 Melbourne Proserpine Melbourne - Proserpine $447 Melbourne Sydney Melbourne - Sydney $130 Melbourne Toowoomba Wellcamp Melbourne - Toowoomba Wellcamp $450 Melbourne Townsville Melbourne - Townsville $389 Melbourne Wagga Wagga Melbourne - Wagga Wagga $346 Merimbula Moruya Merimbula - Moruya $155 Merimbula Sydney Merimbula - Sydney $465 Mildura Sydney Mildura - Sydney $560 Moree Sydney Moree - Sydney $380 Moruya Sydney Moruya - Sydney $273 Mount Isa Julia Creek Mount Isa - Julia Creek $247 Mount Isa Townsville Mount Isa - Townsville $729 Mount Magnet Perth Mount Magnet - Perth $670 Mudgee Sydney Mudgee - Sydney $301 Murray Island Thursday Island Murray Island - Thursday Island $718 Murray Island Yorke Island Murray Island - Yorke Island $634 Narrabri Sydney Narrabri - Sydney $341 Narrandera Sydney Narrandera - Sydney $348 Newcastle Gold Coast Newcastle - Gold Coast $206 Norfolk Island Sydney Norfolk Island - Sydney $599 Normanton Mornington Island Normanton - Mornington Island $399 Orange Sydney Orange - Sydney $276 Palm Island Townsville Palm Island - Townsville $276 Paraburdoo Perth Paraburdoo - Perth $839 Parkes Sydney Parkes - Sydney $270 Perth Newman Perth - Newman $634 Perth Port Hedland Perth - Port Hedland $655 Perth Ravensthorpe Perth - Ravensthorpe $257 Perth Sydney Perth - Sydney $358 Port Macquarie Sydney Port Macquarie - Sydney $280 Proserpine Sydney Proserpine - Sydney $286 Quilpie Windorah Quilpie - Windorah $222 Saibai Island Yam Island Saibai Island - Yam Island $605 Saint George Toowoomba Wellcamp Saint George - Toowoomba Wellcamp $250 Sunshine Coast Melbourne Sunshine Coast - Melbourne $321 Sunshine Coast Sydney Sunshine Coast - Sydney $203 Sydney Tamworth Sydney - Tamworth $282 Sydney Taree Sydney - Taree $260 Sydney Toowoomba Wellcamp Sydney - Toowoomba Wellcamp $438 Sydney Townsville Sydney - Townsville $390 Sydney Wagga Wagga Sydney - Wagga Wagga $331 Thursday Island Saibai Island Thursday Island - Saibai Island $664 Thursday Island Warraber Island Thursday Island - Warraber Island $470 Thursday Island Yam Island Thursday Island - Yam Island $498 Townsville Toowoomba Wellcamp Townsville - Toowoomba Wellcamp $399 Townsville Winton Townsville - Winton $407 Warraber Island Yam Island Warraber Island - Yam Island $549 Yorke Island Thursday Island Yorke Island - Thursday Island $797

Topics: travel-and-tourism, lifestyle-and-leisure, regional, government-and-politics, community-and-society, family, mental-health, people, human-interest, karratha-6714, tom-price-6751, newman-6753, port-hedland-6721

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