Utilising secondary airports for RPT operations: A business case

Most Australian cities have a number of secondary airports used for general aviation, corporate travel, flight training or helicopter flights. Some of these airports are conveniently located close to populated areas, public transport and easy parking. For example, Moorabbin Harry Hawker Airport, in the southeast of Melbourne, is diametrically located to Melbourne Airport relative to the Central Business District (CBD). The southeast region of Melbourne has a population of about 1.5 million, 30% of Melbourne's total population. Their travel time to Moorabbin is only a fraction of the travel time around the CBD to reach Melbourne Airport. Considering additional benefits such ease of parking, check-in and security, raises the suggestion that there could be a business case for operating a scheduled domestic RPT service from Moorabbin Airport to Sydney, one of the busiest routes in the world. This paper presents an investigation into the viability of using Moorabbin Airport for scheduled short-haul RPT flights to Sydney. The business case is based on a new, hypothetical airline Moorabbin Airlines entering this market in competition with existing carriers operating from Melbourne Airport. Financial modeling shows that a viable RPT service can be offered with 2 or 3 regional jets with a break-even after four years.