Re: Wonderful, Customer-Responsive GSR

[rwilke@have.you.got.anything.without.spam (Roy Wilke)]

On Mon, 19 Jan 1998 10:12:04 +1000, "Barry" <one@microsoft.com> wrote:

>
>Roy Wilke wrote in message <34c29212.25122969@news.powerup.com.au>...
>>On Mon, 19 Jan 1998 08:29:19 +1000, "Barry" <one@microsoft.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>Maurie Daly wrote in message ...
>>>>In article <34C11179.41C6@sleeper.apana.org.au> Matthew Geier
>>><matthew@sleeper.apana.org.au> writes:
>>>>>From: Matthew Geier <matthew@sleeper.apana.org.au>
>>>>>Subject: Re: Wonderful, Customer-Responsive GSR
>>>>>Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 09:15:53 -1100
>>>>
>>
>>(snip)

(more snip)

>>Owning an airport doesn't equal building an airport. The argument that
>>the Commonwealth - through taxation revenue - went to the expense of
>>constructing the aerodromes and their associated infrastructure that
>>cost was not covered by the price which those aerodromes were sold to
>>private operators is a solid one.

>>Take Brisbane for an example. Did the current owners reimburse the
>>Commonwealth in full for the runway complex, the very expensive
>>terminal buildings, the two miles of six-lane highway leading to the
>>airport, the support facilities, etc. etc.? If they had, then there
>>would not be a reasonable long-term return on the funds invested.

>Our airport is on the books at its replacement cost less depreciation. We
>still make a return on that. Let's see the passenger rail system do that.

>BC

Sorry about the delay in this response, but owning an airport isn't
the aviation equivalent of operating an railway. It is more the
equivalent of a private operator buying Sydney Central, Spencer
Street, Roma Street or Keswick Railway Station. In aviation, we now
have a situation where the airports ("railway stations") are largely
owned by a variety of private operators, the passenger and freight
services are operated by a number of other private operators, while
the airways ("railway tracks") and the air traffic control services
("signalling and safeworking") are operated by two separate government
departments.

If private airport operators or air service operators were also
required to provide air traffic control services, provide and maintain
all radio navigation aids in the country, as well as all other
aviation-related infrastructure: then, like the passenger rail system,
they'd be likely to make losses on an Ariadne-like scale.

Roy Wilke