Most Australian cities have a number of secondary or GA airports used for general aviation, business, training or helicopter flights. Some of these airports are favourably located close to populated areas, public transport and easy parking. For example, Moorabbin Harry Hawker Airport, named after the Australian aviation pioneer Harry George Hawker (1889 - 1921), in the southeast part of Melbourne, is diametrically located to Melbourne Airport relative to the CBD. The southeast region of Melbourne has a population of about 1.5 million, 30% of Melbourne's total population. Their travel time to Moorabbin Airport is only a fraction of the travel time around the CBD to reach Melbourne Airport. Considering additional benefits such ease of parking, check-in and security, raises the suggestion that there could be a business case of operating a scheduled domestic service from Moorabbin Airport to Sydney. Shortrange flight and high-frequency operation will keep the required aircraft relatively small. This paper presents an investigation into the viability and cost effectiveness of using Moorabbin for scheduled short-haul domestic flights.
↧