Latest news with #Westaway
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The new way to fly out of Australia
Regional airports across Australia are turning into gateways for international travel as new routes and more competition create options for travel-hungry consumers. This month, the total number of passenger seats on offer from regional airports (on a weekly basis) rose from 18,887 a year ago to 20,145. It's a rise of 6 per cent in the winter school holiday travel months, according to aviation analytics company Cirium, as more flights to New Zealand, Bali and the South Pacific drive up the traffic. 'Australians remain keen to head overseas despite cost-of-living pressures, with travel now firmly embedded in household budgets,' Australian Airports Association chief Simon Westaway said. The move towards regional departures for international flights to Asia, New Zealand and the South Pacific is driven by frustration with crowded metro hubs, rising demand for overseas travel and the availability of services on smaller commercial aircraft that can fly longer distances. 'Population growth and rising demand are making regional centres more attractive for international services,' said Westaway. Westaway said that the advances in aircraft technology 'are allowing airlines to fly longer distances with smaller planes'. 'This makes it more viable to launch international routes from regional airports, provided the right infrastructure is in place.' Loading Qantas budget arm Jetstar is flying the narrow body Airbus 321LR (standing for long range), capable of flying 7400 kilometres, which means it can be used on domestic and international routes. Qantas' newly delivered 321XLR narrow body has a range of 8700 kilometres.
The Age
2 days ago
- Business
- The Age
The new way to fly out of Australia
Regional airports across Australia are turning into gateways for international travel as new routes and more competition create options for travel-hungry consumers. This month, the total number of passenger seats on offer from regional airports (on a weekly basis) rose from 18,887 a year ago to 20,145. It's a rise of 6 per cent in the winter school holiday travel months, according to aviation analytics company Cirium, as more flights to New Zealand, Bali and the South Pacific drive up the traffic. 'Australians remain keen to head overseas despite cost-of-living pressures, with travel now firmly embedded in household budgets,' Australian Airports Association chief Simon Westaway said. The move towards regional departures for international flights to Asia, New Zealand and the South Pacific is driven by frustration with crowded metro hubs, rising demand for overseas travel and the availability of services on smaller commercial aircraft that can fly longer distances. 'Population growth and rising demand are making regional centres more attractive for international services,' said Westaway. Westaway said that the advances in aircraft technology 'are allowing airlines to fly longer distances with smaller planes'. 'This makes it more viable to launch international routes from regional airports, provided the right infrastructure is in place.' Loading Qantas budget arm Jetstar is flying the narrow body Airbus 321LR (standing for long range), capable of flying 7400 kilometres, which means it can be used on domestic and international routes. Qantas' newly delivered 321XLR narrow body has a range of 8700 kilometres.
BBC News
01-05-2025
- BBC News
Lake District zip wire at Elterwater - judge to consider ruling
A hearing into a controversial plan for a Lake District tourist attraction has ended, with a ruling expected on a future of the Lake District claimed planners misunderstood their responsibilities when they gave the go-ahead to a proposed zip wire at Elterwater charity said a "tranquil" vision of the national park was at stake in the case.A lawyer for the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) told a judicial review hearing the body had applied the relevant law when awarding planning permission. The Elterwater Quarry Experience would allow visitors to explore a cavern using zip wires and viewing platforms, according to planning of the Lake District said its main concern was that it would bring too much traffic to the "tranquil" planned operator of the site, Zip World, has produced a travel plan designed to encourage the use of public transport and bikes to reach the Friends of the Lake District's chief executive Michael Hill told the BBC the plan was "broken" and would not Westaway, representing LDNPA, told the High Court hearing in Manchester the authority had imposed a "workable" planning condition on the developer to ensure its travel plan was satisfactory. Beauty versus enjoyment Friends of the Lake District argued LDNPA had failed to place enough weight on conserving the natural beauty of the area in making its park authorities are obliged to prioritise this characteristic ahead of promoting enjoyment of the park by the public, such as through visitor attractions, if the two are in Brett, representing Friends of the Lake District, told the court it was "common sense" that efforts to promote enjoyment of the park should not undermine the very qualities people Mr Westaway said the authority had applied the law correctly when weighing up the pros and cons of the Justice Mould told the hearing he would "think carefully" about his decision before handing down a judgement on a future he favours Friends of the Lake District, the planning permission will be quashed and the decision reconsidered by World and the site's owner, Burlington Stone, are yet to respond to a request for comment. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Victoria byelections: Liberals claim Greens seat as Allan pledges to ‘do more' after vote dives in Labor heartland
The Greens have conceded the loss of the Victorian state seat of Prahran to the Liberals, while the result in the once-Labor stronghold of Werribee remains too close to call. The Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, said on Sunday the result in the inner-Melbourne seat was close but that it was clear the minor party will 'fall just short' when counting resumes on Monday. 'Obviously it's not the result we had hoped for,' she told said while Greens' primary vote held up, they did not pick up any of Labor voters – despite the party's decision not to field a candidate in the seat. She said the Liberal candidate, Rachel Westaway, benefited from the preferences of the former Labor MP turned independent candidate, Tony Lupton, who received 12.8% of primary votes in the counting on Saturday night. Lupton had instructed voters to preference the Liberals second and Greens last, pushing Westaway to 51.6% in the two-party-preferred vote. Related: Google Maps changed the way we get around. It all began in a spare bedroom in Sydney 'What actually made the difference here is that we had the Labor party make a decision not to run a candidate in Prahran, which left the field open for a former Labor MP and unofficial Labor candidate to run and funnel preferences to the Liberals,' Sandell said. 'To be honest, I think that progressive voters and Labor voters will be pretty disappointed.' Turnout in the byelection was also low. According to the Victorian Electoral Commission, just 64.29% of enrolled voters had their ballot counted as of Saturday evening. Sandell said the low turnout particularly hurt the Greens because a high proportion of young people who rent in the area may have moved since the 2022 election or were away – and there was no option to cast an absentee vote. 'Our primary vote held up despite this [being] a byelection held during the uni summer holidays, when traditionally a lot of young people … weren't around [and] weren't able to vote,' she said. 'It bodes very well for the Greens and I am looking forward to winning back the seat at the general state election next year.' However, Liberal leader Brad Battin credited Westaway's win to her campaign, which focused on crime and cost of living. 'We know that the message from both of these electorates is that they are sick of the Greens and Labor destroying their lives,' Battin said. 'We are very proud that we can claim victory in a seat that many didn't think was possible, just three or four weeks ago.' The premier, Jacinta Allan, on Sunday conceded there was 'more to do' to restore trust in her government after a collapse of support for Labor in Werribee. Both major parties finished Saturday night with less than 30% of the first preference votes, though Labor's John Lister led Liberal Steve Murphy by 441 votes. The former Labor stronghold was previously held by the treasurer Tim Pallas, who retired in December. At the 2022 election he won the seat with a 10.9% margin and 45% first-preference votes. The swing away from Labor now stands at 10.4%, which would be devastating for the party if replicated at the 2026 state election. Allan said 'working people and families across the state' were 'looking to their governments to listen to them and do more to support them, and that's exactly what I will do'. 'We've heard very clearly that people are looking to governments to do more, and we are listening to that and we will,' she said. Voting will continue in the seat on Monday, when the VEC will also conduct recheck counts. Related: Australia's largest childcare provider faces activist pressure to give staff paid parental leave
