COFFS HARBOUR REGIONAL AIRPORT - Content Writer

IndependentCoffs Coast

Proudly produced by the

COFFS HARBOUR

REGIONAL AIRPORT

Gatewayto theWorld

• 42 flights a week to

Sydney (Virgin Blue

and QantasLink)

• 16 flights a week to

Brisbane (Brindabella)

• Weekly direct flight to

Melbourne (Saturdays,

Virgin Blue)

• New Airport Lounge

• Pilot Training School

• Upgraded Security

• Friendly Service

2 COFFS HARBOUR REGIONAL AIRPORT - July, 2009

The development of Coffs HarbourRegional Airport is acknowledged asthe driving force behind the area’seconomic growth in recent years.

With more than 320,000 passen-gers using the facility every year, it canrightly claim to be one of NSW’slargest and busiest regional airports.

Achieving that status has been theresult of the vision of former CoffsHarbour City Councillors and the airport’s staff.

In 1992, planning began to upgradethe airport terminal and runway. Stage

One of the project was the wideningof the main runway to give it greateroperational flexibility and to cater forfuture aircraft.

At the end of 1999, work began onthe $4 million terminal expansion tomeet the expected growth in passen-ger numbers. The new expanded ter-minal became operational inNovember 2000.

The latest development – the newpassenger lounge – is just the lateststage of that vision.

With seating for 64 passengers,

internet stations, wireless broadbandand a flat screen television, the loungeprovides the comfort and facilities thattourists and business flyers expect andneed.

Keeping pace with developments iskey to the airport’s success.

The Coffs Coast has grown hugelyin popularity as a holiday hotspot inrecent years. Similarly, Coffs Harbouris increasingly being recognised as thedestination of choice for national andregional conferences and sportingevents.

Many of those coming to the CoffsCoast are using the airport, as aremore and more residents travellingelsewhere.

Being able to provide them withthe comfort they would normally onlyassociate with a metropolitan airporthub, will ensure that Coffs HarbourRegional Airport remains the key economic driver it has always been.

Keith Rhoades AFSM

Mayor, City of Coffs Harbour

MAYOR’S MESSAGE

COFFS HARBOUR REGIONAL AIRPORT

If you’re a regular flyer, you’llunderstand why Coffs Har-bour’s airport is widely

acknowledged as one of thefinest regional airport facilitiesin Australia.

This special supplement wasput together to make the entire Coffs Coast communityaware of all the great facilitieswe have at our airport – a facil-ity we can all be proud of.

What makes the airport sospecial is a combination ofgood infrastructure, the widevariety of facilities available,strong leadership, the staff whorun the airport so profession-ally, the airlines who make theCoffs Coast so accessible andall the wonderful and friendlypeople working at the variousbusinesses located at our airport.

Coffs Harbour City Councilhas owned and operated ourregional airport since 1984,when the Commonwealth Department of Transport trans-ferred ownership under the

Airport Local Ownership Plan.As part of that agreement, theairport was upgraded to F28 jetstandard in 1986.

Council became responsiblefor all the development and op-erational costs of the airportwhen the Commonwealth discontinued the Airport LocalOwnership Plan in 1991.

The main runway was up-graded to Boeing 767 standardin 1999 and a further upgradeof the terminal building wascompleted the following year.

Our airport is well used,with traveller numbers increas-ing every year. In the 2007-08 financial year, 323,000 passen-gers passed through the gatesand the airport handled 26,362aircraft movements.

With a main runway lengthof 2080m and a width of 45m,the airport is capable of han-dling most jet aircraft types upto the likes of a wide bodyBoeing 767.

“Not many people areaware of the fact that the Coffs

Harbour Regional Airport run-way is actually longer and widerthan those at the SunshineCoast and Mackay airports,which handle two-and-a-half tothree times as many passengersper year,” says Airport Manager,Dennis Martin.

“In fact, our runway waseven longer than the GoldCoast’s runway until theirs wasupgraded in March 2007, andthe Gold Coast handles morethan 4 million passengers ayear.”

The modern terminal build-ing is fully air-conditioned andprovides comfortable customerfacilities along with state-of-the-art baggage handling and secu-rity systems.

With the infrastructure andfacilities to handle up to a million passengers a year, theCoffs Harbour Regional Airportcould well be the catalyst forstimulating future growth onthe Coffs Coast and even moregenerally, the NSW NorthCoast.

How the Coffs Harbour runway measuresup against other regional airports. AIRPORT MANAGEMENT STAFF

>> These are the people who ensure the smooth running of our Coffs Harbour RegionalAirport. Pictured (back from left) is Mark Fitton, Operations Officer; Boris Svrznjak, Airport Reporting Officer; Terry Cooper, Airport Reporting Officer; Anton Veugen, Compliance Officer; and (seated) Melissa Schultz, Administration Officer; Dennis Martin,Airport Manager. Missing is Guy Vidler, Airport Reporting Officer. The Coffs Harbour Regional Airport operates as a business unit of Coffs Harbour City Council. While council sets policy and direction for the airport, the Airport Manager is responsible forthe day-to-day operation of the airport.

COFFS HARBOUR REGIONAL AIRPORT - July, 2009 3

Coffs Harbour Regional Airport is thecity’s major gateway for the thousandsof tourists and business people whocome to the area every year.

Since 1992, significant financial andhuman resources have been investedin the planning and development of theairport and this facility is now a crucialbusiness asset for the city of CoffsHarbour. It is also of key strategic importance to the surrounding regions.

The visitors that use the airport –

and the many millions of dollars theyinject into the Coffs Coast’s economy– are directly behind a huge percent-age of the rapid growth of the city,which is now seen as one of the MidNorth Coast’s key regional centres.

That is why ensuring that the air-port continues to expand and offerthe range of facilities that both airlinesand passengers demand – and expect– is vital for its continued success inthe future.

The recent fierce competition in

the airline industry, which has seenrapid expansion of companies and ahunt for new routes and markets, hasbeen of direct benefit to Coffs Har-bour Regional Airport – and the city.

The airport is currently serviced bythree carriers – Qantas, VirginBlue and Brindabella Airlines – and hasthe capacity to handle aircraft upto the size of a 240-seat Boeing 767.

The airport has seen importantchanges in recent years, changes thathave given the city of Coffs Harbour

an edge over its neighbours.

Coffs Harbour City Council hasnever underestimated the airport’s importance to the health of its localeconomy and we will continue towork towards ensuring it remains atthe forefront of NSW’s regional air-ports.

Stephen Sawtell

General Manager

Coffs Harbour City Council

COUNCIL GENERAL MANAGER’S MESSAGE

WHAT’S THAT IN YOUR BAG?

When watching your carry-on bag go through the X-ray machine at the

airport, have you ever received analarmed look followed by a friendlysmile by the security officer?

Well, it’s possible that for an instant there they saw a prohibitedor dangerous item in your bag thatyou certainly didn’t pack.

How is that possible? Chris Assigal, of M&C Services,

the security operators at Coffs Har-bour Airport since 2001, explains.

“We use hi-tech screening equip-ment that actually trains and testsour alertness by randomly showingbanned items inside bags on ourscreens sometimes,” says Chris.

“We don’t know if they’re real

until we press a button, which willmake them disappear when they’renot really there.”

The security company, whichChris runs together with MarkBohan, currently has 14 staff whohandle all passenger and baggagescreening at our airport in shifts ofsix at a time.

“We focus a lot on staff trainingand all our officers are well trainedto handle conflict situations,” saysChris.

“We understand flying can bestressful and we are also well awarethat we are a tourist destination, sowe always greet people with a smileand really try to make everyone feelwelcome and at ease.”

The smiles don’t impact the high

security standards applied by thecompany, which adheres to strict federal legislation to ensure nothingthat isn’t supposed to be there getsinto the ‘sterile area’, as they call thedeparture lounge, apron and aircraft.

Trying to keep up with changingairline regulations can be a challengefor passengers.

Two of the most common itemsto be confiscated are scissors, whichare given to local charities, and cigarette lighters.

“One lighter in your pocket is allowed, but we once found 17 inone handbag,” says Chris.

To avoid surprises, read up on what you can bring on domestic andinternational flights by visiting http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au

STATE-OF-THE-ART

SECURITYOur airport features state-of-the-art passenger and baggagescreening facilities. Coffs Harbour City Council recently completed a $1.4 million upgrade of the terminal to accommodate new checked baggage screening facilities asrequired by the Australian Government from December 1,2008, for all airports receiving jet services.

LOUNGE

UPGRADE

On July 1, 2009, Coffs Harbour City Council officially opened a newlounge for passengers andvisitors to the terminal, inaddition to the existing twodeparture lounges and theBiggles coffee lounge. Thenew lounge seats 64 peopleand includes internet facili-ties, a work station and a 40” flat-screen television.

>> Security officers screen all passengers, carry-on bags andcheck-in luggage for dangerous and prohibited items.


You’re flying out of Coffs Harbour.You’ve parked your car, checked in,and there’s 20 minutes left before

boarding. What do you do? Well, you browse the Biggles magazine

racks for something to read on the planeand order a coffee and a snack, of course!

To many, Biggles may be the famous fictional pilot and adventurer Captain JamesBigglesworth.

However, in Coffs Harbour, Biggles issynonymous with Eric Hughes, the friendlygentleman in his mid-50s with the Britishaccent who owns and runs the airport café.

Like so many of his contemporaries, Ericmoved to Australia from the UK in searchof a better lifestyle back in 1971.

He started working in retail in Sydney,where he met his wife Christine, had a milkrun and worked in bakeries before runninghis own bakery and working six long days aweek.

“I came to Australia looking for a betterlife, but somehow living and working in Sydney ended up being not much differentfrom the UK,” Eric recalls.

“You work hard, make long hours, andhardly have time to enjoy family life.”

So the couple, together with their threechildren, decided on another lifestyle changeand moved to Coffs Harbour in 1995.

For the first few years, Eric went back toSydney for work during the week and hestill didn’t feel he’d made much of a change.The turnaround came in 1997.

“We actually went back to the UK on an

open ticket to see if we could live there,”says Eric. “But when we heard that Biggleswas for sale, we jumped at the chance tohave another go at our lifestyle change.

“We were soon back in Coffs Harbourand I took over the business together witha friend in September 1997.”

The pair decided to stick to ‘Biggles’ asthe name for the coffee lounge, which hadbeen established by Derek and Ann KingScott in 1987.

It was originally located on the otherside of the terminal before moving to itscurrent location in 2001.

When his business partner returned toEurope in 2002, Eric assumed full control of

Biggles – and he hasn’t looked back since. He’s like a fish in water, or should we say,

like Captain Biggles at an airport!Eric still chooses to come into work

every day of the week, but he doesn’t makethe long hours he once used to.

With seven part-time ladies to help himserve customers, he doesn’t have to. Theywork in shifts from the first arrival to thelast departure of the day, generally from5am to 8.30pm.

“My staff is absolutely great, and they’reloyal to the core,” says Eric. “Five of themhave been with Biggles for longer than fiveyears. They don’t hesitate to cover for eachother, even at 5am, and stay late withoutcomplaining if the last plane has been de-layed.”

Eric reckons he has the best place towork in Coffs Harbour.

“There’s good camaraderie betweeneveryone working at the airport, we get tomeet and talk to a lot of travellers, evenmeeting the occasional celebrity and gettingtheir autograph for our special celebrityboards, and we can look straight from ourshop out onto the runway,” he says. “Whatmore could I want?”

Eric obviously has no plans to go anywhere else.

He’d better not either, because hisfriendly demeanour, old-fashioned chivalryand continuous presence at our airportsince 1997 have made Eric Hughes the unofficial ‘face of the Coffs Harbour air-port’.

Brindabella Airlines has been providing daily flights betweenCoffs Harbour and Brisbane since it took over the routefrom Sunshine Express Airlines in 2006.

It operates a same-day return flight from Monday to Friday at a time that is convenient for both Coffs Coast andBrisbane residents.

In the current schedule, there’s a flight from Coffs Har-bour at 8am each weekday, arriving in Brisbane at 9am. Thereturn flight leaves Brisbane at 5.30pm, which allows a fullday in Brisbane for business or pleasure. Weekend flights arealso available at different times and Brindabella also offersflights to Port Macquarie.

Last year, Brindabella introduced its new J41 Jetstream aircraft to the route, which considerably improved the stan-

dard of service offered to customers travelling to and fromBrisbane.

With a cruise speed of 540km/h, the fully pressurised J41aircraft is the fastest and most fuel efficient in its class. Thehighly efficient twin-engine turboprop offers optimum bal-ance of performance, comfort and larger baggage allowances.

The larger aircraft also means Brindabella can now carry30 passengers on its daily flights to and from Brisbane, with aflight attendant available to ensure you have a comfortablejourney.

Brindabella is a Qantas affiliate airline and bookings canbe made either through Brindabella or Qantas.

Visit www.brindabellaairlines.com.au to make a bookingor for enquiries, call 1300 668 824.

BRINDABELLA AIRLINES

MEET ‘MR BIGGLES’

Skydiving only for the young, fit and adventur-ous? Think again.

Both skydiving centres at the Coffs HarbourAirport would like to get the word out: anyone can jump from a plane.

With advanced equipment, experienced instructors and strict regulations in place, an increasing number of older people and peoplewith disabilities have been enjoying tandemjumps. That includes people in their 60s, 70s,80s and, yes, even 90s.

Between the two operators – Coffs CitySkydivers and Skydive Coffs Harbour – youhave a variety of options to choose from.

Landing on the beach, at the airport close tolounge and club facilities, or at a location ofyour choice, a photo and/or DVD package, andvarious heights to jump from.

Jumping from the ultimate height of 14,000feet means you will be freefalling at 200km/hfor over a minute, followed by a smooth 5-7minute canopy ride – safely strapped to yourskilled instructor – during which you can enjoythe spectacular views of the Coffs Coast beneath you.

Coffs City Skydivers also offers trainingcourses to learn how to skydive solo, joincanopy formation jumps or become an instructor. It has about 30 members in its skydiving club who do regular solo jumps.

Skydive Coffs Harbour is part of SkydiveAustralia and can convert bookings between itsvarious drop zones along the East Coast, whichis particularly useful for travellers whoseplanned jump in one of those places can’t goahead due to bad weather.

In Coffs Harbour, you can book a tandemjump for any day of the week, but there’s nojumping in rain, heavy wind or low cloud conditions. The minimum age for tandem jumps is 14.

For more information, contact Coffs CitySkydivers on 6651 1167 or Skydive Coffs Harbour on 1800 800 840.

>> Eric Hughes enjoys a coffee at the Biggles airport lounge. Eric and hiswife Christine moved to Coffs Harbourin 1995, and two years later found whatthey were searching for when the Biggles business became available.

>> You’re never too old to experience the thrill ofa tandem skydive.

WHAT IS BIGGLES?• Café – coffee, tea, cakes, snacks,

sandwiches, burgers, fish & chips

• Bar – alcohol is served in this licensed bar

• Shop – newspapers, magazines, lollies, souvenirs

• Internet lounge – Wi-Fi available to go online

• Car park ticket office – payment pointfor the security car park

Biggles’ opening hours are 5.30am-6.30pm Monday to Saturday and 7.15am-5.30pm on Sunday, with someone alwaysthere until the last plane has landed forcar park ticketing duties.

LET’S JUMP!

Seven lucky Papua New Guinean studentsare currently living and studying at the CoffsHarbour Regional Airport to become a pilotfor Air Niugini.

Lucky, because they are the ‘chosen few’who made it through the rigorous screeningand selection process in which the PNG na-tional airline narrows down a field of morethan 1000 applicants to just the cream of thecrop.

These seven bright individuals, aged 20-24,get to spend 15 months in Coffs Harbour tobecome an airline pilot.

The youngest member and the lone girl inthe group is 20-year-old Rhoda Ilave, who isonly the fourth female to be trained by AirNiugini.

“I was in medical school, but my brotherwas doing the pilot training here last yearand he loved it so much that he got me ex-cited and I decided to apply too,” says Rhoda.

“My dream is to fly big airplanes, it’s such

a good feeling to be flying, you’re doingsomething that humans aren’t actually de-signed to do.”

Although Rhoda’s parents are both econ-omists, flying does seem to run in the family’sblood.

Her brother was just promoted to FirstOfficer on a Dash 6 with one of Air Niugini’sdomestic alliance airlines; Rhoda is well onher way to start her own flying career; and atage 10, her youngest sister now says shewants to be a pilot, too.

Ever since Rhoda’s fellow cadet JehuthaJuju was a little boy, he has known exactlywhat he wanted to do when he grew up.

“A piwot” is what he reportedly alwaysanswered when his uncles asked him what hewanted to become.

The 21-year-old was studying mechanicalengineering at university, but when he sawthe Air Niugini recruitment ad for cadets hedropped out and applied.

“I actually stopped my course before Iwas accepted because I just had this strongfeeling that I would be successful,” says Je-hutha.

“When my dad was young, he was ac-cepted as a cadet to train with the first air-line in New Guinea. But his mum, mygrandmother, was afraid he might die so hetook up business management instead.

“My dad is quite proud that I am nowtraining to become a pilot, and my grand-mother has come around and is OK with ittoo.”

The students all enjoy living in Coffs Har-bour and when they’re not flying or studyingthey may go shopping or go to church, to thebeach or see a movie at the cinema.

Their proudest moment will come in De-cember, when they get to take their visitingfamily members up into the sky with them aspart of the graduation ceremony. And bythat time a new batch of recruits will be hereto start their Coffs Harbour adventure.


Eight young, uniformed pilot cadets sit in a pur-pose-built ‘flying classroom’ and closely watchwhat happens on the 62” flat screen as the in-

structor behind the controls performs a demo of atricky aircraft manoeuvre.

This scenario is part of daily reality at ProfessionalPilot Training (PPT), Coffs Harbour Regional Airport’sfull-time pilot school for budding commercial airlinepilots, which is owned by John Brien and Rob Lore-tan.

Rob, who has been PPT’s Chief Flying Instructorand Chief Pilot since 2000, is an experienced aviatorwhose impressive CV showcases four decades of in-ternational aviation experience.

As part of the RAAF, he has flown heads of statearound Australia, worked in Malaysia and the US andwas a member of the 1980 Roulettes aerobatic team.

He also was the Chief Instructor at NASA (Cess-nock) for 14 years and spent another five years insenior positions at the Civil Aviation Authority be-fore coming to Coffs Harbour.

“PPT is a small pilot school, but we focus on pro-viding high-quality airline training,” says Rob.

“We specialise in training foreign students for AirNiugini, the national airline of Papua New Guinea.We currently have seven very talented PNG stu-dents living on site and undergoing our full-time 15-month pilot training course.

“Other students who want to become a com-mercial airline pilot are welcome too, but they haveto undergo the exact same schooling as the Air Niugini students.”

PPT, located on Aviation Drive, currently employsthree flight instructors and has four airplanes plustwo training cabins that operate much like flight sim-ulators to help train the pilots.

“Our pilot school has a number of classrooms, in-cluding one theatre-style room with a flight simula-tor and a large screen that allows us to show theaerodynamics of different airplanes in a way that allstudents can really experience it,” says Rob.

“We are the only flying school with a state-of-the-

art facility like that.“I’m very proud of all the students who graduate

here. Our pilot school may take longer than others,but we factor in that these students have to adjust toa different culture, we’re patient, but we really pushthem to make them work hard and there’s a 100 percent pass rate among our cadets.

“Air Niugini is very satisfied with our services andkeeps sending us new cadets to train every year.

“We have room for 24 on-site students, so we’reworking towards securing a contract with anotherairline to provide their new recruits with profes-sional pilot training here in Coffs Harbour.”

“We have a good relationship with all the otheroperators on the airfield and Coffs Harbour CityCouncil has done an excellent job providing facilitiesand incentives and giving proactive support to fosterthis.”

PPT can be contacted on 6651 5199 for more in-formation about its professional pilot trainingcourse.

DREAMS COME TRUE IN COFFS FOR PNG CADETS

PROFESSIONAL PILOT TRAINING

When you see or hear a helicopterabove you, some people up there may behaving the time of their life enjoying thebest possible views of the Coffs Coast.

But then again, the chopper may justbe on an entirely different mission alto-gether.

Yes, the two commercial helicoptercompanies based at Coffs Harbour Re-gional Airport do offer scenic flights, butthey are just one of the services on offer.

Photographers, farmers, governmentdepartments, media organisations andpower companies are among those whoregularly hire a helicopter for other pur-poses.

Besides scenic flights, here are nine

other reasons to hire a helicopter –aerial photography and filming, pipelineand powerline surveys and inspections,fire spotting and fire bombing, flood re-lief, property surveys and inspections,aerial agriculture such as seeding andspraying, stock mustering and feral ani-mal control, charter flights for transfersin style and helicopter pilot training.

Scenic flights are also known as joyflights, and for good reason – everyoneloves them.

Between them, Precision Helicoptersand Strath Air Helicopters offer a rangeof scenic flights that start with a ‘taster’of about 6-7 minutes in the air.

Both operators’ most popular tour is

a 15-minute flight around the harbour,up to Moonee and back across theOrara Valley, but there are countlessother itineraries and packages and youcan even design your own helicoptertour.

With only window seats available andthe ability to take the door off, the flightsoffer the most amazing views of theCoffs Coast’s natural beauty, which is sodifferent from the air it surprises evenlocals who have lived here their wholelives.

For further information about scenicflights or hiring a helicopter, contactStrath Air on 6652 7508 or PrecisionHelicopters on 6652 9988.

>> Sheldon Adams now stands at the front of theclass after graduating from PPT last December.

>> PNG students RhodaIlave and Jehutha Juju.

>> Precision Helicopters. >> Strath Air.

>> Rob Loretan has been PPT’sChief Flying Instructor and ChiefPilot since 2000.

10 REASONS TO HIRE A HELICOPTER

Two years ago, Sheldon Adams of Coffs Har-bour was studying economics in Brisbane. Thistime last year, he was learning to be a pilot atProfessional Pilot Training (PPT). Now, Sheldonis training to become a flight instructor.

“I went to uni because all my friends weregoing, but my heart wasn’t in it,” says Sheldon,who in his pilot uniform looks older than his20 years.

“I’ve wanted to be a pilot since I was four,and when I found out I could train right herein my hometown, I returned within 24 hoursto join the course that had only just started.”

Graduating in December last year, Sheldonlooked around for a job as a charter pilot, butwithout a lot of flight hours under his belt hefound it hard to compete with more experi-enced pilots.

“I’m very lucky that PPT asked if I wouldlike to stay on to train and work with them asa flight instructor,” he says.

“It’s a bit weird because it was only last yearthat I was in the same shoes as the studentsI’m starting to instruct now, but it’s very satis-fying to see this group of cadets who are so fo-cused and happy to be pursuing their dream.”

LOCAL STUDENT

NOW INSTRUCTS


Is it a hangar? A storage facility? A privatecarpark for airport personnel perhaps?No ladies and gentlemen, the large

white building on your left as you drive to-wards the Coffs Harbour airport terminalis a state-of-the-art security carpark.

You would think that the various signsalong the road and at the car park en-trance and the huge ‘Coffs Airport SecurityCarpark’ sign across the front of the build-ing would give it away. Strangely enough,that isn’t always the case.

“The security carpark has been therenearly 10 years now and although it’s wellused and appreciated, a lot of people tellus they didn’t recognise it as a carpark,”say Tom and Therese Murray-Prior, whobuilt, own and run the facility.

“Maybe it’s because you can’t see thecars from the outside.”

Of course, that’s exactly what makes itsuch a safe and secure building – it’s notjust undercover, but fully enclosed andlocked up, with a security gate and 12 cameras to monitor what goes on inside.

And secure it is. “There has never beena security breach in all these years,” thecouple proudly proclaims.

Tom and Therese got the idea for a se-cure carpark at the airport when air trav-ellers started storing their cars at Hi-TechSelf Storage in Toormina, which the couplebuilt and ran during the 1990s.

Starting with 44 car spaces, the securitycarpark at the airport has gone throughseveral upgrades over the years and cur-rently offers dry, safe and secure parkingfor 120 vehicles. And it has stayed dry,even at times when other parts of Coffswere flooded. It’s also a breeze to use,with no time wasted when parking yourcar.

“Travellers find it incredibly convenientto simply drive in, take their ticket, walkthe short undercover walkway to the ter-

minal and fly out in the knowledge theircar will be safe and waiting for them whenthey return,” says Therese.

Upon arrival back at the airport, trav-ellers simply validate their ticket and paytheir parking fees at Biggles Coffee Loungeand off they go.

The Murray-Priors’ approach to busi-ness hasn’t changed since they owned thestorage facility, and it shows.

The place is kept immaculate, there’santi-slip flooring and good lighting and thewhole experience is as smooth and pleas-ant as can be.

Thanks to all the hi-tech security fea-tures, which allow Tom and Therese tomonitor the carpark from home, the cou-ple is able to enjoy the best of both worlds– run a successful business while havingenough free time to enjoy hobbies, attendvarious board meetings and visit their fourchildren and nine grandchildren.

And don’t think you need a Benz or aBentley to use the carpark – a peek insidereveals cars of all brands, ages and priceranges standing happily side by side, wait-ing for their owners to return from theirbusiness trip or holiday.

On July 31, it will be seven years since thefirst Virgin Blue Boeing 737 jet toucheddown in Coffs Harbour, the first regionalNSW airport to welcome Virgin’s ‘next gen-eration’ plane.

With it, an era of greater competitionarrived on the NSW North Coast.

Today, Virgin Blue operates two daily jetservices to Sydney and a weekly direct flightto Melbourne on Saturdays.

Virgin Blue’s Coffs Harbour operationsare managed by Clancy Willoughby, who haslived in Coffs all her life. At just 22, she’s be-lieved to be Virgin Blue’s youngest StationManager in Australia.

“I started working part-time at the VirginBlue check-in counter during my last year atSouthern Cross University where I wasdoing a business course,” says Clancy.

“I was promoted to Station Manager inMay this year after receiving extensive train-ing.”

Her team consists of six counter staff and10 baggage handlers, some of whom are uni-versity students who only work a few shiftsper week.

“Because we only have one morning andone afternoon flight, all our staff work part-time, but we really enjoy working togetherand with the other people stationed at theairport,” she says.

“We’re like a little community here,there’s a great atmosphere and we all getalong very well.”

Sharing supervision duties with AaronMartin, Clancy is responsible for the officialpaperwork for the flights, ensuring all regula-

tions are strictly adhered to.

“It’s because of this time-consuming ad-ministration and passenger safety thatcheck-in needs to close 20 minutes beforeeach flight,” says Clancy.

Checking in online could save you sometime, but only if you have no luggage.

“Around 20 per cent of our passengersnow use web check-in and they can gostraight to the departure gate,” says Clancy.

With bags, however, you would still haveto go to the check-in counter.

Virgin Blue has been using its new 104-seat Embrear 190 E-Jet for most of itsSydney-Coffs Harbour flights since early thisyear. Although it looks very similar to aBoeing 737 on the outside, with a two-by-two seating configuration the aircraft ismore streamlined and offers better fuel con-sumption and more comfort for passengers.

As for its Melbourne route, Coffs Coastresidents should be pleased to learn VirginBlue recently rescheduled its direct flight onSaturdays to a more convenient 12.15pm de-parture time from Coffs Harbour, also allow-ing for easier connections to and from othermajor cities in Australia.

Call Virgin Blue on 13 67 89 for enquiriesor visit www.virginblue.com.au to make abooking.

SECURE PARKING GIVES TRAVELLERS PEACE OF MIND

VIRGIN BLUE

>> Paul Kelly from Coffs Coast Travel can helpwith all your travel needs.

>> Safe and secure. Coffs Airport Security Carpark has been part of the airport’s landscape for 10 years.

In April this year, Coffs Coast Travel opened itsoffice in the building next door to the CoffsHarbour Regional Airport terminal.

Owned and run by Rick Haines and PaulKelly, the original owners of Kelly Travel, theagency makes travel bookings and arrange-ments for businesses, families and individuals,while specialising in sporting groups and cor-porate travel.

“We gladly welcome past and new clients toour agency,” says Paul.

“Our promise to our clients is to providethem with excellent personal service and theywill benefit from our expertise that comesfrom many years of experience as leaders inthe travel industry.”

Although many people now book their owntravel online, using a travel agency is still agood idea, especially if you need more than justone flight.

Coffs Coast Travel can help you get the bestflights for the best price available and organisesmooth connections, arrange accommodation,visa and insurance and get a cost-effectiveoverall package.

Corporate clients, in particular, will appreci-ate the agency’s advanced financial reportingsystem.

Coffs Coast Travel is also the official re-gional representative of Qantaslink.

For more information, contact the travelagency on 6651 2022.

NEW TRAVEL

AGENCY OPENS

>> Clancy Willoughby manages the Virgin Blue operations in Coffs Harbour. At 22, she is believedto be Virgin Blue’s youngest Station Manager in Australia.

LOCKED UP• No bookings required

• Fees $2/hr, $13/day, $78/week• Payment at Biggles upon return

(cash, Visa, MasterCard, bankcard)• Open daily from 5.30am until 30mins

after arrival of last scheduled flight


With air traffic increasing, CoffsCoast residents can rest easyknowing that our skies are kept

safe by professional air traffic controllers inour airport’s Control Tower.

While aircraft movements high up in thesky are controlled by radar from a majorcontrol centre in Brisbane, Coffs Harbouris one of Australia’s 26 airports where theairspace directly above it is managed from alocal air traffic control tower.

Ours is the only controlled airspace be-tween Newcastle and Coolangatta.

“All aircraft that enter our airspace needto get our clearance so that we can ensurethere’s always a safe distance betweenthem,” explains John Ruttiman, who leads ateam of four air traffic controllers in CoffsHarbour.

“We are a so-called procedural tower.That means we don’t have radar coverage,

but we use radio communications with thepilots, visual monitoring using our eyes andbinoculars and constant calculations tokeep aircraft safely separated and to deter-mine the safest and most efficient order fortake-offs and landings.”

Weather elements are just some of thethings that are constantly monitored on thecomprehensive instrument panel in thecentre of the tower and the controllers en-sure that pilots always have the most re-cent and accurate information available tothem.

They also work in close consultationwith the Brisbane centre, to which aircraftare ‘handed over’ when they leave our air-space at an altitude of 4500 feet.

“We handle around 100-120 aircraftmovements on an average weekday,” saysJohn. “During the 10 hours a day that thetower operates, everyone needs to lodge a

flight plan with us, from commercial airlinesto charter planes, helicopters, skydiving op-erators, private aircraft and the pilotschool’s training planes.

“Even when there are no flights for awhile, we always have to stay alert becausewe can suddenly get several pilots contact-ing us at the same time and we have to di-rect each of them safely and efficiently.

“We were incredibly busy during the re-cent floods, when we had to deal witharound 200 flight movements on somedays.”

From the outside, the white tower withthe big windows next to the Coffs HarbourRegional Airport terminal doesn’t revealjust what goes on inside.

But next time you look at it, you’ll knowthat it’s a buzzing command centre whereexperienced air traffic controllers are hardat work keeping our skies safe.

Since the start of its regular Sydney-Coffsroute on Boxing Day 1992, QantasLink’sCoffs Harbour services have come a longway.

From two flights a day on small 36-seateraircraft, the Qantas subsidiary has introducedlarger planes and more flights over the yearsto cater to demand.

Since mid-2008, most flights on this popu-lar route are now carried out on new, 74-seat Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft,currently flying to Sydney up to four times aday.

The Q400 travels at jet-like speeds of667km/h and passengers who have travelledon it will have noticed the cabin is morecomfortable and less noisy than previous,smaller turbo props that were used by theairline.

Having been there since the start, whenQantasLink was still operating under thename Eastern Australia Airlines, CustomerServices Officer Rob Crawford confirms alot has changed in 17 years.

“We didn’t even have computers thosefirst few years,” says Rob. “Everything was

done manually then. “Now all Qantas staff around the world

are on one and the same system and arelooking at exactly the same information.”

Hailing from New Zealand, where heserved customers in a post office for 20years, Rob originally came to Coffs Harbourfor a week-long visit to see his sister. Decid-

ing to stay on, he completed a travel coursehere and worked at Kelly Travel, the localQantasLink representatives, before startinghis job at the airport.

Rob now supervises the QantasLink staffshifts on rotation with Lisa Burns and MattEndemi, who have both been with the airlinemore than 10 years as well.

Their team is made up of 12 staff mem-bers who do the ground handling for allQantasLink and Brindabella flight arrivals anddepartures at Coffs Harbour airport.

In an effort to be involved in local com-munities, Qantas regularly offers support tolocal charities and events.

That support extends to our local econ-omy, with refreshments on board most Qan-tasLink flights out of Coffs Harbour beingprepared by our own airport café Biggles.

“A lot of passengers comment on what abeautiful airport this is,” says Rob.

“It’s a very progressive airport and we’relucky to be working here.”

For enquiries, call Qantas on 13 13 13 orvisit www.qantas.com.au to make a booking.

KEEPING COFFS AIRSPACE SAFE

QANTASLINK

Step inside the Coffs Harbour & District AeroClub on Aviation Drive and you will see boardafter board on the walls carrying names of pi-lots that trained here.

Although a quick count may reveal about500 names, the true figure is probably in thethousands, as records didn’t start until several

decades after the club’s 1928 inception. The flying school and social club is the hub

of recreational aviation on the Coffs Coast. Anyone who wants to learn to fly a small

airplane can come here and take a trial intro-duction flight or a full training course for theirRecreational Aviation Australia Pilot Certificate.

At the moment, 10 students are learning tofly at the club, guided by veteran flight instruc-tors Charlie Smith and David Sercombe.

After successfully completing all coursecomponents, including 40 hours in the air,they qualify for their first, restricted pilot li-cence and their names can be proudly added

to the club’s walls.In addition to offering pilot training, the

club also carries out charter and joy flightsand, as a licenced club, is available for privatefunctions.

To find out more, contact the Coffs Har-bour & District Aero Club on 6652 2992.

>>You can send items to anywhere in the worldfrom the Coffs Harbour Regional Airport.

>> The Control Tower at the Coffs Harbour Regional Airport handles up to 120 aircraft movements on an average weekday.

SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND LEARN TO FLY

Sending documents, parcels or pets aroundAustralia or overseas is easy at Coffs HarbourRegional Airport.

With the only airside airfreight facility be-tween Newcastle and the Gold Coast, puttinga dog on the plane or having fresh flowers de-livered is a simple process.

Door-to-door parcel delivery service Aus-tralian Air Express (AaE) has its office andwarehouse right next door to our airport ter-minal.

“We can use any flight in the Qantas net-work to transport freight across Australia andto most other countries around the world,”says Coffs Harbour’s AaE Agent, James Bianchi.

“Our trucks will pick up and deliver theparcel or people can drop it into our office atthe airport and choose next flight, same day,overnight or 48-hour delivery.”

Since his first freighting job at the airport –with Ansett in 1978 – James has seen justabout anything flown in and out, including ex-otic snakes and reptiles, live bees for the USand penguins for the Pet Porpoise Pool. AaEspecialises in perishables, such as bloodstockand fresh produce.

Toll Priority also operates out of Coffs Har-bour airport, but has its warehouse off-site.

To find out more, contact Australian Air Ex-press on 13 12 13 or Toll Priority on 13 15 31.

SNAKES ON APLANE

>> Matt Endemi checks in Kate at the QantasLink desk. Inset: Rob Crawford


This 8-page special feature brought to you by Coffs Harbour Regional Airport. Stories by Micky Stuivenberg.

Airport Administration: Freight:

General Enquiries: 6648 4767 Australian Air Express: 6652 7670

Airport Manager: 6648 4737 Toll Priority: 6650 9115

Airlines: Coffs Coast Travel: 6651 2022

Qantaslink

Airport Desk: 6651 1966 Biggles Cafe: 6651 2777

Reservations: 13 13 13

www.qantas.com.au

Security Car Park: 6651 5211

Virgin Blue

Airport Desk: 6658 0696

Reservations: 13 67 89

www.virginblue.com.au

Brindabella

Airport Desk: 6651 1966

Reservations: 1300 668 824 or 13 13 13

www.brindabellaairlines.com.au

Ph: 13 13 90 Ph: 6651 4994 Ph: 6651 1899 Ph: 6651 3600 Ph: 6652 5022 Ph: 6652 8622

AIRPORT DIRECTORY

COFFS HARBOUR REGIONAL AIRPORT - Content Writer

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