Sydney Airport Message Board - Skywest airlines Geraldton to Melbourne flights announced

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- - Skywest airlines Geraldton to Melbourne flights announced (http://www.yssyforum.net/board/showthread.php?t=6050)

Skywest airlines Geraldton to Melbourne flights announced

Quote:

Skywest Airlines is poised to offer Midwest residents a weekly service from Geraldton to Melbourne, after negotiations with officials.

The regional airline is also likely to double capacity on routes to the Midwest, announcing that it plans to introduce 100-seat jet services from January.

Company chairman Jeff Chatfield said those services would include flights to Melbourne via Kalgoorlie.

Skywest runs a weekly service between the Goldfields and Victoria at present.

The announcements were part of Skywest's strategy "to expand Geraldton as a regional aviation hub", Mr Chatfield said.

Geraldton-Greenhough mayor Ian Carpenter said the deal "recognises Geraldton-Greenhough's emerging status as a major regional economic powerhouse".

"The Melbourne connection will also see a substantial new market get direct access to (the) Coral Coast region."

The airline will also start flying to Ravensthorpe next month, with the four-times-a-week service underpinned by a $900,000-a-year deal with First Quantum Minerals, the Canadian owners of the former BHP Billiton nickel mine.

Ravensthorpe will be part of the Perth-Esperance service, landing in Ravensthorpe on the return journey from the south-east town.

Skywest announced a codeshare deal with Virgin Blue in July to give the latter's passengers access to more WA regional towns.

That deal also foreshadowed co-operation between the airlines in tendering for the loss-making state-government subsidised routes which are operated at present by Skywest under a contract extension.

It will continue to operate those routes until February.

Mr Chatfield said the new expansion "reflects our ambition to cement our position as the leading airline in Western Australia

http://www.watoday.com.au/travel/tra...025-170ox.html

So many flights a week will Skywest have to MEL?

Its hard to tell by the story it may just connect at Kalgoorlie to the existing Perth-Kalgoorlie-Melbourne service. Will have to wait til Skywest produce the new schedules.

Isn't the current Kalgoorlie-Melbourne route stretching the range of the fokker 100?

I have heard of it calling into Adelaide for fuel.

Ryan,

Kalgoorlie Melbourne I believe is not a prblem, it is going into the other direction which may stretch it.

Since they reinstated flights , we haven't had one divert to Adelaide. But before the pulled out last year, we got one or two.

I am suprised that Skywest don't fly in their own right to ADL. A weekly flight from Karratha to Adelaide and Port Hedland to Adelaide with a F100 could work as these routes have no competition. It would save people time from going via Perth. Do they have spare F100 capacity? As seem to have a lot in Perth sitting on the ground for long periods of time.

Sorry to bring and old thread up, but this months AA has a 4 page story on Skywest. Lots of its history and future plans in the article. Still plan to get another A320. Also states 4 F50s are surplus to their needs

There is currently always one F50 that is used for parts at the airport. Currently it is FNB. Most of the F50's do one flight a day and then get parked up.

Further update and confirmed start date at last:

Quote:

Skywest is planning new
weekly flights from Geraldton
to Bali to expand its mid-west
Australian network.
The regional airline is also
planning new services from
Geraldton to the east coast of
Australia and Melbourne from
July 2011.
Tickets for Geraldton-Bali
flights will be available from
May 22.

http://www.travelweekly.com.au/getat...fbfe0/pdf.aspx

Has Gerarldton got customs facilities yet to handle international flights?

It says from the Geraldton to the east coast of Australia and Melbourne so from that wording either Sydney or Brisbane or both may also be added ??? .