New regional capped airfare scheme a “major win” for locals, with bookings from July 1 onwards now open

The extended Regional Airfare Zone Cap scheme is a “major win” for Goldfields residents, despite the new maximum $265 price tag for peak period flights, according to member for Kalgoorlie Ali Kent. Bookings are now open for flights from July 1 onwards under the new scheme, which will see residents pay a maximum of $199 in low demand times, or $265 in peak periods, for flights to and from Perth for the next five years. When it was first announced, the State Government’s website listed school holidays and “popular FIFO times” as examples of “peak periods” where the $265 would likely apply. However, Ms Kent told the Kalgoorlie Miner on Monday she had fought to get that changed online to avoid confusion with residents. “We’ve clarified that because in the Goldfields, FIFO times could mean any day,” she said. While she admitted there would definitely be some flights priced at $265, including last-minute bookings, she said it should not be every flight out of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. “The worst thing would be that every time somebody tried to book a flight, its $265 — that would be really bad,” she said. “I’m hoping it’s a case of you book in advance and if it’s outside school holidays and a normal flight — not the busy Monday morning or Friday night flight — you would easily have the $199 flights. “We’re going to have to just play it by ear on this and see how it all falls out because you can’t really predict if an eight o’clock flight on a Monday is going to be more popular than an eight o’clock flight on a Friday.” She said FIFO flyers were not the only people using peak flying times from the city. “There’s a lot of executives that live in Kalgoorlie that are on that morning flight on a Monday because they’ve got meetings in Perth,” she said. “There’s probably far more suits than high-vis on a Monday going go into Perth or on a Sunday night.” Ms Kent urged anyone with concerns with the new scheme and prices on offer to reach out to her, but asked residents to “look on the bright side”. “You are still saving, on each fare, possibly up to $500 or $600 each way,” she said. “When you look at the cost without this cap on, it sometimes would cost you up to $1000 each way. So the fact that this is now locked in for a five-year period is giving surety to people that have to travel to Perth.” Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said she was proud to have locked in cheaper airfares for regional WA residents. “These changes to our landmark Regional Airfare Zone Cap scheme mean it will continue, and we can provide peace of mind to WA families that affordable airfares are here to stay,” she said. “This scheme has already delivered more than 758,000 capped flights for regional Western Australians since it was introduced in 2022. “Changes to the scheme are also driving competition among airlines, with some already setting fares below the maximum caps for certain routes, offering more savings for regional residents.”