POLITICIANS, civic leaders and businesses have been just three market sectors among the first to welcome the news Virgin will fly the Sydney-to-Tamworth route once a day, six days a week, from May.
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Tamworth Regional Council general manager Paul Bennett said he was excited about this announcement.
“Seeing the Virgin logo on the tarmac is something we’ve been waiting for for a long, long time,” he said.
Deputy Premier Troy Grant, in Tamworth for some electioneering duties, said he “wouldn’t have missed it for the world”.
“This shows other regional cities what can be done with leadership at the local government level,” he said.
Tamworth Nationals MP Kevin Anderson welcomed the competition with longtime provider QantasLink.
“This is a fantastic day for Tamworth,” he said.
Former Hazelton Airlines boss and independent candidate for Tamworth Peter Draper said it was a fantastic development for the city.
“Competition is such a healthy thing for an airline route,” he said.
“We will see significant price reductions because of Virgin Australia’s presence and I’ve urge travellers to support the new service to make sure it’s viable.”
Mr Draper said that when he was with Hazelton, there were three airlines flying the Sydney-Tamworth route: Impulse, QantasLink and Hazelton.
“It’s going to help tourism as well as the business community and going to be terrific for the town,” he said.
There are already travellers wanting to book on the new service.
Paula Peterson of TravelManagers said she had already had a few inquiries about Virgin flights.
“I’ve had a good level of inquiry, but I’ve had people inquiring about a second airline for so long.
“I think there’s room for both and they can create jobs and keep people in jobs,” she said.
“I hope the community supports both airlines.
“I think it will come down to schedule time and they both have benefits with international carriers as well.
“QantasLink has been supportive of the community over the years, but I think there is room enough for two.”
Ms Peterson said the Virgin Australia flight times would be good if you were flexible, but they must earn the community’s loyalty.
“They will be held to task: I don’t think Tamworth people will tolerate schedule changes and delays,” she said.
“As much as people are excited it’s coming, they’ll give them a hard time if they don’t get it right – but if they’re making an effort to come, like JetGo, we need to support that.
“If they can get bums on seats, everyone will win.”