NT News, 19 October 2012
PLANS for a ‘‘virtual’’ airline operating between Darwin and the Philippines city of Cebu have been scrapped.
Orchid Airlines said there had not been enough bookings for the service to start on schedule in December. Bookings for Easter are stronger.
It had planned to charter planes at the busiest times of the year, such as Christmas and school holidays.
Orchid may now go into partnership with a Philippines airline to operate a scheduled service.
It wouldn’t name the carrier. But cut- price airline Cebu Pacific has shown interest in flying to Darwin.
Official Statement from wildorchidairlines.com.au
The directors of Wild Orchid Airlines wish to convey our deepest appreciation to our supporters and customers as we aspired to bring the vision of charter flights to the people of Darwin.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to promote this new option, the travelling public was reluctant to “give charter flights a go.”
Due to lack of public enthusiasm, it is with regret that we must cancel the December and January flights to Cebu, Philippines, effective immediately. (Easter flights and beyond are under review, with a temporary halt on sales.)
Our market research indicated the viability and sustainability of the charter flights scheduled by Wild Orchid Airlines, however, we did not foresee the lack of support by Northern Territory Government (both prior and current), which had previously embraced other international airlines, all of which have since abandoned the Northern Territory. We had hoped that, like the Philippine and Cebu Governments, the Northern Territory would get behind this new venture by a Territory company and help us promote our services abroad. However, Wild Orchid Airlines was not given much consideration by Tourism NT.
We regret that the people of Darwin will continue to be subject to the daily increases of airfares during peak travel seasons, especially December and January, by the established operators, along with their hidden add-ons, whilst the comfort of full service & convenience of day time flights with Wild Orchid Airlines, with our transparent and fully inclusive cost structures were largely overlooked by the Darwin Community. Over the past two weeks, our fares have averaged nearly $200 cheaper per person, per round trip, during the December/January travel period and on some dates over $500 cheaper.
Qantas Airways, the supplier of the aircraft & crew have been a fantastic partner to work with and we are grateful for their assistance during every step of the way.
The promotional team have done an exceptional job given the tight budget constraints they have had to work within. We do believe they have done their best, but were fighting against a human intangible that in the end could not be overcome.
The business model of peak season charter flights is a proven business model – with many international airlines around the world having their roots in this model as their start up operations. We had confidence that the people of Darwin would embrace this as an opportunity to take advantage of a new travel destination for those that seek pure tourism and as an cheaper more convenient option for those that travel for family reunions during those peak travel periods.
Unfortunately there comes a point in time where the directors of Wild Orchid Airlines has had to draw a line in the sand, and say “we cannot continue the marketing costs without sustainable bookings” – that time is now. By drawing that line now – Wild Orchid Airlines will be in a position to refund 100% of all ticket sales. Had we deferred this decision, we may not have been able to honour these refunds.
Our supporters that have purchased tickets – we thank you dearly for your support. We will process all refunds as quickly as possible, mostly within the coming days – but this process may take up to 2 weeks to complete. We urge your patience.
Regrettably, this decision will have longer term negative effects for the Darwin community – as this will keep the international air service options closed for many years to come. But this is the will of the people – you have voted with your bookings.
We apologise to our supporters that we have had to make this very hard decision.