Link Airways will stop flying into Shellharbour Airport on 20 May. Photo: Region Illawarra.
Who’s to blame for Link Airways pulling out of Shellharbour Airport?
The proverbial is being flung in all directions – the company for its decision, Shellharbour City Council for not being supportive enough and Illawarra residents for their lack of patronage.
At the end of the day, it means the Illawarra is once again left without passenger flights – to anywhere.
For those of us who have been around long enough to remember, this is not our first rodeo with companies flying in eager to get us on board then leaving us high and dry. At my count this is the sixth carrier which has flown out never to return – I’m not holding my breath for Link’s “possible” return.
Personally, I’ve loved having such close and easy access to flights.
When No 1 favourite son decamped to Melbourne, visiting him was a breeze (until COVID hit of course, but I can’t blame the airlines for that).
Fly down Friday after work, back on Sunday after watching the AFL at the MCG and be home in time for dinner.
That was until JetGo got up and go-go’d, along with the money for our next Melbourne visit.
Disappointed and angry, we resigned ourselves to future drives to Sydney for our southbound flights.
One of the many complaints that have been flooding social media since news of Link’s departure hit last week is about the cost of flying with the regional carrier.
I’ve done the numbers many times, both for Melbourne and Brisbane flights.
Shellharbour Airport is owned and operated by Shellharbour City Council. A 2021 upgrade included a new terminal and carpark development. Photo: Region Illawarra.
At first glance tickets were more expensive than say Virgin flights out of Sydney.
BUT … consider these points:
- Free baggage check-in with Link versus carry-on only or pay extra for check-in baggage with the others
- The cost of driving to Sydney and back, especially when fuel costs are high, and the associated wear and tear on your vehicle
- Free parking at Shellharbour Airport, right next to the terminal. Who just loves arriving back late into Sydney on a Sunday night and having to wait for the transfer to your chosen premium piece of Sydney airport parking?
- And did I mention the free wine, cheese and bickies or a cuppa and biscuit on Link flights?
- But the very best thing about having an airline just down the road is precisely that – it’s literally down the road from anywhere in the Illawarra. That means you don’t have to allow three hours to get to Kingsford Smith before your flight and best of all it means that you can be home even before you eventually get to your car in one of those over-priced parking stations around Mascot.
Trust me, between the time you save and the hassles you save in driving to Sydney, it works out pretty much the same.
If you’re happy to deal with that and save a few bucks, you’re welcome to it. But I’m sorry to say, it’s travellers like you who choose to fly out of Sydney than support a carrier located on your doorstop (and its associated staff) who have contributed to the company’s downfall.
Do I blame Link? Yes, to a certain point I do. I have no doubt that the increasing fuel prices have added an extra burden to every airline in the world, especially these smaller ones.
However, the service has been slowly shrinking over the past few years. Whereas once upon a time you could have those longish weekend getaways, that became impossible as services started disappearing from schedules.
My last experience with Link was not a good one and to me it illustrated everything that was going wrong.
As usual, I drove the 20 minutes to the airport and left the car in the free carpark right next door to the terminal.
The flight to BrisVegas for a friend’s 60th was all good, apart from the turbulence that resulted in me wearing some of the abovementioned free wine. Luckily it was white wine.
The problems started when I received a text late on the Sunday night, informing me that Monday’s return flight had been pushed back a few hours.
Then, just as we left to drive to the airport on Monday morning I received another text: Your flight has been cancelled. Please contact us to rearrange your booking.
Frustrating, but I thought I’d enjoy another night with my friend and jump on tomorrow’s plane.
When I finally, finally got through to a human, I was told the next available flight was Thursday.
Excuse me? You’ve just cancelled my flight and you can’t fit me on another one until Thursday? Three days away?
No, I was told, there is NO flight until Thursday. But we can reschedule you on a flight into Sydney today.
But my car’s parked at Shellharbour Airport – how am I supposed to get home from Sydney? (In retrospect, if they had offered me a taxi voucher to get home I probably wouldn’t be sharing this tale of woe.)
Eventually I got a refund, booked on another airline into Sydney where I jumped a train to Woolli Creek, waited for another train to Dapto, got a taxi and got home. Seven hours later.
Those same friends were due to visit me a few weeks later. They booked their flights to Sydney, not game to take a chance on getting home via Link.
As for Shellharbour Council’s perceived lack of support, I reckon they’ve made a pretty good fist of it.
Apart from financially supporting the airport precinct and investing funds into the redevelopment of the terminal, the council last year launched its Fly From Home campaign, encouraging people to do just that. Just recently it hosted an art exhibition in the terminal which was extended because of positive feedback.
There’s an argument, probably justified, that Wollongong Council should have thrown more of its hefty weight behind the airport – after all, when you book with Link you book from “Wollongong” and the luggage tags are stamped WOL.
It’s not good enough to argue that because the airport is in Shellharbour Council’s area it’s their problem. Promoted properly, the Melbourne and Brisbane routes should have delivered tourists to all of the Illawarra.
Blame is relative and I don’t believe it can be pointed at any one entity.
All we can hope is that when the next airline comes knocking on the Illawarra’s door, it receives a collective, warm welcome and a collaborative mindset to ensure we can again take to the skies from our own backyard.
