ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Koala Airlines has announced plans to shake up the long-held Qantas-Virgin aviation duopoly by offering a service that neither of the nation’s jet operators do.
Over the past 30 years, the national aviation market has been the graveyard for many an airline – along with the hedge funds and investors that backed them. The latest being Regional Express (REX), which is subject to a Four Corners investigation this evening. Before them, it was Bonza, who’s largely been forgotten already.
With REX’s foray into Boeings still under the microscope, Koala Airlines has told The Advocate that they have learned from the mistakes of the many that have gone before them.
“The obvious trap is setting airfares low, running at a loss initially to capture marketshare, then cutting servives and hiking prices. That’s been done dozens of times in this country and it obviously doesn’t work,” said the airline’s spokesperson, Karl O’Alar.
“So to break in, you have to meet them at their level. You need to offer what they do but better. It’s not premium, it’s not, you know, being inside a flying outer-metro RSL club or P&O Cruise like Jetstar is. It’s in the middle. You want ordinary, middle-class people choosing you over Qantas and Virgin. You do that with a point of difference,”
“Ours will simply be respect. We will hire our own staff, no outsourcing, no nothing. A private company employing private people. Baggage handlers, engineers, all the way to cabin cand flight crew. If you don’t fly, we don’t hold your money hostage, you’ll get it back. Or, we’ll book you on another service. Like, how hard is it?”
“Treating your employees well means they want to come to work and do a good job. Look at Ansett, people still banging on about working there and it’s been gone for 23 years. If Qantas fell over now, people would be dancing on it’s grave.”
More to come.