Airline Power play

If successful the second airline would not only introduce an entirely new market to the city but would break the monopoly held by embattled carrier Regional Express on a number of regional routes within a 150 kilometre radius of Orange.

The plan involves turning the small Australian Executive Air Charter service, currently based in Orange, into a fully fledged airline boasting an enormous 48 seat jet capable of flying to Sydney in just 20 minutes.

Flights to and from Brisbane and Melbourne would also form part of the airline’s key routes together with a ‘hub concept’ incorporating flights to Parkes, Dubbo, Wellington and Forbes.

The new airline’s chief proponent, Gerald Power, yesterday promised the airline would be more reliable and cheaper than service currently offered by Rex and said the service could be up and running by December.

“Following on from some of the news about Rex’s performance we believe Orange deserves a competitive and reliable service on the tarmac and that is exactly what we want to provide,” Mr Power said.

“They [Rex] has had time to provide a good service and the point is pretty obvious that they have not done that despite the fares they expect people to pay. I guarantee our fares will always be cheaper than Rex,” he said.

The Central Western Daily understands council staff are extremely supportive of the bid to introduce a second airline into the Orange market after learning the airline hopes to attract 100,000 passengers a year after five years of initial operation.

By comparison, around 60,000 people use the Orange to Sydney route each year.

The 48 seater EMB 145 jet that would form a key asset of the airline landed in Orange on Friday and was inspected by several Orange councillors and senior staff.

“When it pulled up at the airport terminal it pretty much made the Rex plane look like a toy. It’s a big plane that’s for sure, much larger than the current 30 seats that are on offer so the capacity is there to really increase the number of people we bring into this city each year,” Mr Power said.

“Now we are setting about attracting investors, local investors, because you need to have largely local ownership of this thing for it to be supported and for the service to be tailored to local needs. That’s the point Rex has missed over the years.”