A second player has arrived in our skies to put a small chip, rather than break, in the stranglehold QantasLink has had on the Tamworth-Sydney air route for years.

The announcement by Virgin Australia that it will commence flights between the two centres from late May will please many.

It will also placate more than a few, win some brownie points for civic leaders and bureaucrats who have worked backstage negotiations, but importantly give the market some new- found wings.

Qantas in its various guises through the years has been a loyal friend to Tamworth, but many have seen that loyalty tainted to some extent by the monopoly position it has held. For too long, too many have complained about the cost of flying with our kangaroo kid.

Now, we get the chance to put our money where our mouths have been.

But in reality Virgin will be looking to test the market for the longer-term haul, too.

It’s obvious slots have opened up from other routes so it can now accommodate Tamworth, but it is a scheduling factor that might not find a lot of favour with the business fraternity.

They are flying times that will be best pitched to mums and dads and tourist types, or business people who don’t mind the extra stayover to get there and back.

The Virgin service will also offer only about one-sixth the numbers of seats QantasLink does each week.

Obviously being the hard competitive player it is, Qantas will meet the Virgin entrance into our skies. We could expect they will pitch their ticket prices to meet what Virgin offers, but they’re likely to only be on those similar route times, not on the premium travel times business most wants.

It is the first time since 2001 Tamworth has had more than one airline on the Sydney route. We can only hope that the new flyer will help grow the market for both airline companies, provide an extra choice for travellers, and give passengers more discounted prices for some more flight schedules.

Tamworth Regional Council has spent about $5 million in the past couple of years on upgrading the regional airport and its terminal. While talks have been going on for the past two years, essentially it’s been in the past couple of months they’ve reached a new serious height. 

It is a good result, considering that it was about 10 years ago that Virgin went as far as measuring car parks and terminal space as a prelude to putting Tamworth on its radar. 

It’s been a long time coming.