Why Coffs Harbour flights cost six times more than regional budget routes
Coffs Harbour flights average 71 cents per kilometre; Ballina with Jetstar budget service averages 12 cents-a sixfold gap.
Regional Australians are desperate for cheaper flights, but the maths keeps working against them. Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie flights cost about 71 cents per kilometre, compared to 12 cents at Ballina where Jetstar flies budget routes.
The problem: half-empty planes can't cover operating costs, so airlines charge more per passenger to break even. Rex, the struggling regional airline now owned by American company Air T, has had to cut routes where demand was too thin.
Melbourne to Albury had no airline flying it at all after Rex quit. Madeleine Lawler, head of Regional Development Australia on NSW's Mid North Coast, told a parliamentary inquiry that expensive flights harm tourism and isolate aging communities.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service says regional airlines are critical for emergency medical evacuations. Rex has deals with Queensland and WA governments that help subsidise routes in those states.
- 71 cents per kilometre
- Coffs Harbour flight cost
- 12 cents per kilometre
- Ballina with Jetstar
- $40 million in July 2024
- Rex taxpayer rescue package
- Air T in December 2025
- Rex sold to
Why it mattersWithout affordable regional flights, small towns and regional businesses suffer; isolation and medical access are at risk.
AustraliaRegional Australians face limited and expensive flight options; tourism economies in small towns weaken; emergency medical transport depends on airlines that struggle financially.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 7 h ago
