Arabic version: أسعار الرحلات الإقليمية تضغط على فرق أرض أرنهيم
According to ABC News, soaring regional airfares are making Australian touring increasingly untenable for internationally recognised bands based in Arnhem Land, while threatening the prospects of emerging artists outside capital cities.
An interim Productivity Commission report released this week found that long regional and remote flights cost 67 per cent more on average than major city routes. Short regional flights cost 173 per cent more per kilometre. The report also noted that competition in regional aviation was severely limited.
Yothu Yindi manager Alan James said travel costs had forced the band to reject Australian shows. He said a return flight from Gove to Brisbane cost $5,200 and could be more expensive than travelling to London for a concert. “It’s just pricing us out of the market,” he said.
Stuart Kellaway, Yothu Yindi’s bassist and manager of fellow Arnhem Land rock band King Stingray, said King Stingray’s recent flights to United States shows cost less than domestic travel. He said the band had turned down three or four shows in the previous month because the airfare component did not work financially. Mr Kellaway said gigs remained one of the last decent income streams for bands as streaming reshaped music earnings.
Mr James said emerging groups had little chance of building sustainable careers if they were not based in a capital city. Both managers said they had seen fewer airlines serving Arnhem Land during Yothu Yindi’s career. Several airlines have recently reduced Northern Territory services, leaving Qantas and subsidiary Jetstar to service flights between Darwin and capitals including Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra. Qantas said rising labour, airport and air traffic control costs, along with higher fuel costs, had influenced ticket prices, and encouraged travellers to book ahead.
