Kingscote Airport Master Plan Apr 2010 - Kangaroo Island Council

KINGSCOTE AIRPORT MASTER PLAN
Movement Area Planning
The following study looks seeks to provide a planned approach to development at Kingscote
Airport over the next 15-20 years.
Critical Aircraft
The critical aircraft for master planning purposes can be defined as the largest aircraft likely
to use the aerodrome on a regular basis. Currently the turbo prop Saab 340 with 34
passenger seats fills this role. Although larger aircraft may occasionally visit Kingscote, they
do not have a key role in the current economics of the airport and therefore are not
considered critical in terms of provision of infrastructure.
In 15-20 years time, the Saab 340’s are unlikely to be operating due to their age; production
ceased in 1999. Similarly the Fokker F50 with 50-58 passenger seats, currently flying to
several ports in South Australia, ceased production in 1996. At the end of the 15-20 year
master planning period, the newest Saab 340s will be over 25 year old. By this time, the
number of permitted load cycles from landings, pressurisation, are likely to have been
exceeded and the aircraft retired.
Turbo-prop Replacement Options
A replacement turbo prop is unlikely to be in the range of an 18 to 34 seat capacity, as worldwide,
there are no such aircraft in production. Aerospatiale ATR 42, ATR 72 and Bombardier
Q400, are currently the only turbo prop airliners being made. These models range from 44 to
78 passenger seats.
Aircraft of this type will fit into the existing infrastructure at Kingscote without the need for
significant changes to the aircraft pavement. The increased seating capacity will potentially
lead to increased congestion in the terminal especially if passengers from more than one
flight are using the facility simultaneously.
Looking at the forecasts in the Kingscote Airport Strategic Plan, the predicted passenger
movements are estimated to range from 84,000 to 156,000 per annum by the year 2023/24
(these are totals of the arrivals and departures). The passenger numbers equate to between
3 to 6 flights daily using a 50 seat aircraft with 70% seat occupancy.
Consideration to Regional Jets
For short haul routes, turbo prop aircraft are significantly more cost effective than jets as they
use around 30% less fuel. The speed advantage of the jet is largely negated when flying
short stage lengths as the time spent boarding, taxiing, taking off and landing takes up a
large portion of the flight time. Government regulations currently require greater security
checks for regular passenger jets. Adding time for the higher level of passenger and
possibly baggage screening, the overall travel time between Adelaide and Kingscote could
increase if jets were introduced.
Regional jets operating in Australia include the Embraer EMB 170 (70-78 seats) operated by
Airnorth and Virgin and the EMB 190 (108-118 pax seats) operated by Virgin. Because of
inefficiencies with short haul routes, these aircraft would only operate into Kingscote if there
were sufficient passenger numbers flying direct to other ports such as Melbourne or Sydney.
The passenger numbers in the Strategic Plan forecasts equate to between 1.5 to 3 flights
daily of a 100 seat aircraft with a 70% seat occupancy.
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