Fly Corporate, the Illawarra’s newest passenger flight operator, says there’s one thing that sets them apart from previous service provider, JetGo – their aircraft.
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The Brisbane-based airline admits it has some work to do to restore the trust of the region’s frequent flyers, in particular ticketholders left stranded by the collapse of JetGo earlier this year.
“I can understand people’s reservations,” Fly Corporate’s sales manager Geoff Woodham told the Mercury.
“Who is Fly Corporate? In this region we’re new, not many people know about what we do, [but] in other markets we’ve been established for many years.
“We actually own our aircraft and that’s a very, very big difference to the operator that was here last.”
Mr Woodham said another aircraft on its way from America would be added to the fleet of five planes that will service the Illawarra.
“We are a completely different organisation,” he said.
“Building that trust, there’s no doubt about it; who are we? We’ve got to build that trust and we will work with the market.”
The test flight – “about doing the checkbox ticks” – came two weeks before the first passenger flight takes to the sky on November 12.
Eighteen flights are scheduled between Wollongong and Melbourne’s Essendon Airport each week, with eight flights on the Brisbane route.
Fly Corporate says the 34-seat Saab twin turboprop aircraft are well-equipped to fly into airports like Albion Park.
Some JetGo jets were unable to land in times of inclement weather, but Fly Corporate pilot Andy Armitage said the Saab was a different category aircraft.
“The maneuverability is much finer and we can actually come in in conditions where the cloud is much lower than what the jet could, for a standard instrument approach,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Woodham remained tight-lipped about ticket sales to date, but did say expectations were being met.
“There’s been a significant increase in bookings over the past week,” he said.
To book a ticket, visit: flycorporate.com.au