[Peetwo]

As the bubbles burst.

ADELAIDE Tuesday May 15, 2018
Govt scrambles for answers after defiant Rex cuts SA flights

The Marshall Government is seeking an urgent explanation from Rex Airlines, the provider of the state’s only air service between Adelaide and Mount Gambier, after its extraordinary move to scale back flights after "unfair" complaints about the service.

Finally; the turgid, foetid bubble of foul smelling gas, trapped deep within the swamps of Sleepy Hollow is rising to the surface. Both passengers and politicians waiting in terminals around the country notice the stench as the 11Am service from Piddlemore to Big Smoke fails to turn up and the sweet young thing behind the counter says “Sorry folks – your flight has been cancelled” then races back behind the security door before the message is fully understood. It is then the passengers start looking for the company telephone number and kick up a fuss.

Not one of the shiny brochures or flash magazines claiming all manner of ‘care’ for the stranded passengers will abate the anger – not even for the first time it happens, let alone the fourth time in a month. People get really pissed off when an air service fails to materialize. That is when they start ringing the local politician.

Rex airlines is copping a fair bit of flack at the moment – the good folk of Mt Gambier and Canberra are hacked off, playing merry hell about cancelled flights etc. and want something done, now - now. This of course galvanizes (gooses) the local MP and the Pooh starts hitting the Rex front door. It ain’t Rex’s fault of course, but nonetheless it is the airline which will cop the drubbing. Not fair folks – nowhere near fair at all.

An outfit like Rex is as much a victim of ‘system’ as the irate passengers and to imagine that Rex would deliberately set out to sully their good name, piss passengers off and enjoy loosing the revenue a flight produces is just nuts. The company is suffering due to their willingness to comply with some of the most ridicules rule sets ever written. I shall try to explain it, bear with me, it ain’t simple.

At the beginning of a long chain is the certification required to operate scheduled air services. Any proposed air service operation is subject to an incredibly expensive, complex, time consuming process. Thousands of legally binding pages must be produced, covering everything from paper clip distribution to the onerous responsibility placed on the CEO. In order to gain ‘operational approval’ and begin services; many compromises must be reached and, under the pressure of time and money – the company accept changes to their proposed system and procedures, for no other reasons than expediency and gaining that approval before everyone goes mad. They go along to get along – no option – it’s just the way things are. Once the certification is gained – the next hurdle is keeping it. No easy task – serious amounts of money are invested in not only ‘compliance’ but in being seen to be compliant. In short, by pandering to the whims and dictates of the local CASA office, a company ends up with a huge, complex operating ‘manual’, supporting all manner of trivia, which must be complied with – or else…

This becomes apparent a company needs to recruit aircrew – the sheer cost - which the passenger fare structure must pay for – of clearing a new pilot to line is a big number to begin with – before all the ancillary whistles, bells and gold plating are added. The infrastructure required to place a pilot in the cockpit is not only large, but it costs money, real money to support. In the real world CASA would be told to go and boil their bottoms and take their self opinionated clap-trap with them. Not in Australia though; the mandatory requirement to Kow-Tow to the CASA ‘expert’ rules supreme. Everyone bitches and moans about the imposts – but no one dare speak. They all just plod through the system – as approved – knowing full well that to even bark about it will bring the wrath of the CASA demi-gods (recruited from local flying schools) down around their corporate ears.

Even so, they struggle through – until one day an outfit like Qantas or Virgin decide they need more crew. The AUD$70, 000 it has cost Rex to put a pilot on the flight line is written off to experience with one phone call: “Start on Monday” says the Qantas HR lady and poof – a Rex pilot vanishes. Can’t blame the pilot, it’s a career dream come true: Saab to Bathurst or 777 to LA – no brainer. Which puts poor old Rex in a spot – what to do? They are now not only facing the horrendous costs of ‘compliance’, hidebound by the system they had to have, they must now dig deep and train another pilot. And so it goes, until the point where there ain’t any more pilots and flights must be cancelled. Strict flight and duty rules prevent ‘over time’, long winded check and training systems cannot provide fresh bodies to the system in time and ties up line pilot availability in C&T duties. This is where the inflexible, narrow view of the regulations really bites deep, at the coal face.

Some folk are jumping up and down about the lack of flight schools and the demise of many of these establishments and it is true that the regulations have forced many to close down. It is fair beef and a simple enough case for politicians to understand, hell they may even get something done about it – in time. But it will be way to little and a decade late. The problem is here – now and very, very real. It is but the visible tip of a huge, CASA generated iceberg. Never before has there been such a demand for pilot training, flying schools are flat out everywhere – except Australia – trying to meet the demand. By the time Australia catches up – the bubble will have burst and the revenue gone overseas. Great stuff and well done successive governments who have not only abrogated responsibility but rubber stamped this complete cock up into existence and spent upwards of $400 000, 000, over three decades to produce it. All in the name of ministerial  ‘safety’.

The cost of compliance with the current rule set is the radical cause of passengers left stranded in Mt Gambier – not Rex Airlines; they do the best they can, with what they’ve got and what they are saddled with. The government could turn this all around within 18 months; the big question is will they?

Gentlemen, the grand experiment has failed; time to bring in a rule set which allows aviation to flourish. New Zealand is a mere two thousand miles and many light years away; ask ‘em nicely, they may give us their rule set – if not the Bledisloe Cup.

Toot toot.

Shannon Wells contribution to the debate -

Via the Oz today:

New regulation is make or break

SHANNON WELLS
If the regulators set the bar too high, general aviation may well be finished. Set it right and airlines could return to regional towns

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CASA’s new regulation could make or break general aviation

Australia has long had a love of aviation. We have an aviation pioneer on our $20 note. We recently celebrated the first direct commercial flight from Australia to London by Qantas, and on a per capita basis, we are one of the highest users of air travel in the world.

However, a Senate inquiry into the regulation and funding of air route service delivery to rural, regional and remote communities is showing not all is going well with aviation outside of the major cities. Consumers are reporting high airfares, meaning they can’t travel, council-owned regional airports say they are losing money, and many air routes have been abandoned or are heavily subsided by government.

The reasons for this are multifaceted, including the lack of pilots, excessive and expensive regulation, relatively high airport charges and ageing aircraft.

General aviation traditionally has been the breeding ground for training and employment of new pilots. This is because general aviation has been responsible for the operation of low-capacity airline routes, charter, freight and other essential services, mainly for remote and regional communities. However, the recent approval of 457 visas for pilots, primarily to fly larger aircraft, has left many in the industry dumbfounded and goes to demonstrate the perilous state the aviation training sector is in.

Given that Australia has a highly educated population, vast and generally (outside capital cities) uncongested airspace, many airports and a good variety of weather, it seems Australia should be an ideal location to not only train enough pilots for our own industry, but to be a training platform to help ease the growing international shortage of pilots, particularly in the Asia-Pacific.

While there are many reasons for our industry failing to meet demand, one suggestion is that it is problematic for a small general aviation company to comply not only with Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations, but also the Australian Skills Qualification Authority regulations, should they wish to issue a Diploma of Aviation, attract international students or pursue the Vocational Educational Training Student Loans scheme.

Flying training by its nature is expensive; courses can cost over $100,000. Without becoming a Registered Training Organisation, thus reporting to two federal regulators, there are limited options for a student to obtain a loan to pay for their aviation education.

In addition to flying training, the other backbone of general aviation is charter services in smaller aircraft (that is, 10 seats or less). For the nearly 30 years, CASA has been discussing the merger of two distinct regulation types, passenger air charter and regular public transport services, into one, namely “passenger transport”(Part 135).

The problem is that regulations for regular public transport services are relatively strict and costly when compared to charter. Several additional staff are required to operate the airline, such as safety managers, quality managers, and continuing airworthiness managers. RPT aircraft are maintained differently, with more costly regulations applying.

Should the new Part 135 rules follow the highest RPT rules that apply now, then I would suggest many charter operators would simply shut down.

CASA has announced that the new regulations are coming in June/July this year, which is good to hear.

However, I firmly believe that this legislation has the potential to make or destroy the general aviation industry. If the regulations set the bar too high, general aviation may well be finished. Set it right and local airlines could return to regional towns, giving greater benefits for everyone in the community.

We all agree that aviation needs to be safe. However, the regulator and the government need to have a greater appreciation on what their decisions can do to organisations other than the major airlines.

The new minister, Michael McCormack, needs to appreciate that general aviation is the breeding ground for the next generation of aviation, supports regional Australia and we can’t afford to be ignored for much longer.

Shannon Wells is the managing director of Airlines of Tasmania (Par Avion), a RPT and Tourism charter business based in Hobart.

MTF...P2