Dubbo mayor Ben Shields says he’s had no word from Qantas about its second planned regional pilot academy, but should the city’s bid “win or lose” he wants to explore further relationships with the carrier.
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Dubbo missed out to Toowoomba as the site for the airline’s first multimillion-dollar regional training base, but with plans for another facility, hopes remained alive.
Qantas said in September it would make a decision for a second site “before the end of the year”.
Dubbo is on the shortlist along with Alice Springs, Bendigo, Busselton, Launceston, Mackay and Wagga Wagga.
On Tuesday Cr Shields said he had not “heard anything from Qantas” but was “excited to hear what the result would be”.
The mayor was not prepared to concede the city’s hopes of landing the base were fading as time passed and the end of the year drew nearer.
“No, they’re not really because I’d imagine other airports… putting in a bid for this are also hearing nothing as well,” he said.
“So it is a matter solely for Qantas now to decide and I’m keen to give them as much time as they would like to come to that conclusion of where they would be.”
Cr Shields maintained the city was “the best option” for the airline’s plans, but he also broached possibilities beyond the pilot training academy.
“Win or lose I’m keen to continue a relationship with Qantas and make sure that whatever we do that we can grow Qantas’s involvement within Dubbo,” he said.
“Dubbo’s got a fantastic airport at the moment, it’s going through a considerable amount of growth and Qantas obviously has a major part to play in that.”
Cr Shields said he was “quite keen to explore further business relationships with Qantas” and among the items on his agenda were “further flights in the air” and more flight destinations.
He made the case for the bid.
“Look I have been criticised over the past six months or so for putting such an effort into the bid for Qantas,” he said.
“However I make no apology for it.
“We must be chasing all potential business opportunities as we can.
“There’s no point resting on our laurels.
“Win or lose this, we need to now work on our next project.
“And after that, we need to be continuously working on initiatives to bring business to Dubbo.”
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Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
