DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Question No. 1894 Senator Murray Watt asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, in writing, on 4 September 2020:

With reference to COVID-19 funding for regional : 1. For each regional approved for funding under either or both the COVID-19 Regional Airlines Funding Assistance program and COVID-19 Regional Airlines Network Support program, can the minister advise the share of the total regional aviation market operated by each approved airline reported by the following: a. percentage of available seat kilometres; b. percentage of regional flights; and c. percentage of regional routes.

Senator Cash – The Minister representing the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development has provided the following answer to the honourable Senator’s question:

Table 1 below provides market share estimates, where available, for Regular Public Transport (RPT) air operators receiving support through the Network Support Program (RANS) and/or the Regional Airlines Funding Assistance Program (RAFA). This is based on data provided to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). BITRE does not collect data on all RPT operators, and these are noted below Table 1. Information on total RPT operations is commercially sensitive, and this data has been released with agreement from the relevant operators. Where BITRE holds data but the operator has not agreed to its public release, this information is included in the ‘Others’ category. The most recent data available is from July 2020.

Table 1: Estimated market share of RPT air operators*, regional flights**, July 2020: Share of total Available Seat Kilometres on regional Share of total regional Share of regional flights flights segments flown *** 2.0% 2.5% 4.7% Fly Corporate () 0.4% 2.1% 4.1% FlyPelican 0.2% 2.1% 2.8% () 0.1% 5.9% 4.7% Group 72.0% 38.8% 25.8% Regional Express^ 2.9% 19.3% 24.5% 0.2% 3.6% 1.9% 0.2% 1.2% 3.1% Virgin 17.5% 6.3% 7.5% Others 4.5% 18.2% 20.9% *BITRE data does not include the following RPT operators supported under RANS and/or RAFA: Eastern Air Services, , , or Chartair. **Defined as any flight with at least one port classified as regional or remote under the ABS remoteness classification. ***Elected not to extend RANS grant agreement beyond 30 June 2020, as the route receiving support had become profitable. ^ Rex’s share of ASKs is smaller than its share of total flights because it operates smaller aircraft with fewer seats compared to the other major airlines operating regional services. In 2019, Rex flew approximately 55.4 per cent of regional flights and approximately 45.6 per cent of the total ASKs on regional flights, when flights operated by QantasLink, , Virgin and Tigerair are excluded.