Media Release
28 December 2005

Minister and Skippers Sign on New Regional Air Services

The Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, The Hon. Alannah MacTiernan, has today signed a contract with Skippers for Western Australia 's new scheduled regional air service networks.

Skippers are now licensed to operate scheduled air services for the new Northern Goldfields network, which encompasses services from Perth to Geraldton, Meekatharra, Wiluna, Leinster, Laverton, Leonora and Mount Magnet. Services will commence on the new network routes on 1st January 2006 and the license will be effective for three years with a two year option.

In a conference held earlier today at Skippers, Minister MacTiernan noted that, following the impact and subsequent fallout from of the Ansett collapse in 2001, sustainability was of key importance in formulating the new networks. The new routes will continue to be regulated and not receive any subsidies. Airfares, schedule frequency and demand would be closely monitored by the Department for Planning and Infrastructure's aviation industry observers with the intention that that pricing remains fair and that the level of air services can be sustained.

At the conference, Skippers CEO, Rob Swann said “ Skippers are pleased to be able to offer at least one additional weekly service to our new destinations than was offered by previous operators. Ports like Meekatharra have grown considerably since we have taken up the service, and we're pleased to give other communities the opportunity to grow alongside them through the linking of several of these ports with each other and Perth.”

Established in 1990, Skippers have provided quality scheduled air services to several key destinations across Western Australia. Since the Ansett collapse in 2001, Skippers inherited many of the routes considered by other operators as unviable, yet has achieved steady growth in passenger numbers across most of these ports. The aircraft designated to service the new destinations are the 30-seat Embraer (Em-BRAY-er) Brasilia (Braz-IL-ya) and the 36-seat DeHavilland Dash-8 turboprop aircraft. The company owns a fleet of 20 aircraft, employs around 170 people and maintains an unblemished safety record.

The new Skippers' schedules for 2006 are available at www.skippers.com.au (.)

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Enquiries are welcomed to:
Rob Swann, Chief Executive Officer
Ph: (08) 9478 3989