By MATT NICHOLLS
EXCLUSIVE
VIRGIN Australia could be flying to Armidale in the near future.
In what would be a boon for Northern Tablelands travellers, it is believed the airline has been investigating the route between Sydney and Armidale.
While Virgin has yet to have official talks with Armidale Dumaresq Council – the operator of the airport, the Armidale Independent understands the airline has ramped up its interest and has already investigated potential flying times.
The introduction of Virgin would take away the monopoly that QantasLink holds over the Sydney-Armidale route.
QantasLink currently flies between Armidale and Sydney five times per day, seven days per week, while Virgin is believed to be interested in running two services per day – one to and from Sydney in the morning and the same in the afternoon.
The length of Armidale’s runway has been a deterrent to Virgin in the past as its jets are not capable of landing at the airport. However, the company has just acquired a fleet of propeller aircraft through the takeover of Skywest.
It’s believed that Virgin Australia is looking to expand Skywest operations out of Western Australia to cover more regional parts of the country on the eastern seaboard.
Yesterday, Virgin said it had no immediate interest in flying to Armidale, but didn’t rule it out in the future.
“We continually assess the performance of our network and review new opportunities for growth,” Virgin spokesperson Luke O’Donnell said.
The talk around Virgin could be linked to recent criticism of QantasLink by Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall.
Since QantasLink moved its Armidale connections to Terminal 3 at Sydney Airport, flights in and out of Armidale have been hampered by regular delays.
Mr Marshall said passenger complaints quickly soared.
“The delays are not just causing frustration, but in some cases significant expense,” he said.
“In some cases flights are leaving 90 minutes late.”
Mr Marshall said he would embrace Virgin or any other airline that would be interested in flying to Armidale.
