QANTAS DESERTS DARWIN

Darwin residents will be amazed at how much they are being charged for a simple flight out of their city. In searching the http://www.qantas.com.au/ website for flights from Darwin to Singapore (your usual first stop on your way over to Rome!!), it dawned on me that it was going to be much harder and way more expensive than I ever imagined. I have known for some time that Qantas no longer flies to Rome and although this still shocks and outrages me, I have had some time to adjust to it. But to recently discover that Qantas no longer flies out from Darwin to Singapore - its budget airline Jetstar is the only option, well, to say that I am disappointed is the understatement of the year. You also only have one time slot which you can fly Darwin to Singapore and that is at 1800hrs. On top of that, for a 4 hour, 15 minute flight, it can cost you anywhere between $1,850 and $2,450, one way! That works out to be almost $600 per hour. Ouch!

So that started me thinking ... do the other major cities have the same problem getting out of town and is it as expensive as Darwin is?

The simple answer is no.

Fly out of Sydney and you have a choice of between two or four direct Qantas flights to Singapore. You fly for 8 hours and 15 minutes and all it will cost you is no more than $1235.

Whilst Melbourne and Brisbane also only have one direct flight to Singapore (noting that it is a Qantas flight and not Jetstar) both only cost around $1300.

We all know that unless you are travelling short distances, there are no direct flights out of Canberra to anywhere, let alone to Singapore. So it came as a surprise that even with two legs along with a 10 hour and 45 minute journey, the most you will pay is $1530.

If you fly Qantas out of Adelaide, direct to Singapore, you will pay no more than if you were travelling through Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. However, if you dare take a detour through Darwin, your trip will almost triple to a cost of $3009.

Want to be a hero and travel from Hobart to Singapore? You will go from Hobart through to Melbourne, then Sydney and finally reach Singapore a whole 17 hours and 50 minutes later. But even that wont cost you any more than $1650. That makes sense ... an almost 18 hour travel route, using so much more fuel and of course paying more wages (given the time travel) is cheaper than a 4 hour flight? Go figure!

So much for Darwin (the closest port to Asia) being a bonus. Nor is the fact that Darwin has an Internationally Airport an advantage - something not even Canberra (you know, the capital of Australia) can boast about!

Qantas has not answered any of my emails so I guess with that ... all I can say is:-

"Have we Darwinians now got the hint?"