Par Avion Flight to Melaleuca

[weetbix456]

Running hot off the recent conversation about Lake St Clair ferry price jumps & monopolisation of the "bushwalkers service" they provide - I recently contacted Par Avion to book myself & family members in for the flight to start the SCT next month. In the past I have walked in from Lake Pedder...but have paid for my girlfriends flight a couple of years ago which had then cost $200, and if my memory is correct included a "food drop" weight quota in addition which we used to help us others bulk up a bit on a long three week trip.

These days the rate has gone up to $300, and when booking recently I was told that there is a bag weight limit of 20kg per person & I would be charged $5 or so for every kilo over this limit - not only that but there was no guarantee that I could even add this extra weight come the day - the receptionist said they may have to cull some gear at the airport if it come to this.

This leaves me thinking - how can this be claimed as a satisfactory & acceptable "bushwalkers service" flying into a remote area such as Melaleuca - when essentially all walks leaving from there range in length from 5 - 8 days plus!! Imagine being told after paying in access of $300 for a flight ($900 as a group of 3 not including stove fuel) that you have to leave some items behind...this could potentially include extra days food & safety equipment.

Has anyone had recent experience having weight culled from their kit?? Surely it's just a word up. If not, wow what a joke!!

[rangersac]

Obviously there are no guarantees, but in my experience (which is fair few flights over the past five years thanks to working on the Orange Bellied Parrot Programme and walking) I've never seen anyone charged for excess baggage. I suspect the wording was introduced to stop people taking the micky with luggage (probably due to massive camera rigs for the guided tours as much as anything) and I guess if they were really at capacity on a given day you might get stung. Given you are looking at the next month or so for travelling I think you'll be pretty safe as it's definitely not peak season.

[Azza]

This leaves me thinking - how can this be claimed as a satisfactory & acceptable "bushwalkers service" flying into a remote area such as Melaleuca - when essentially all walks leaving from there range in length from 5 - 8 days plus!! Imagine being told after paying in access of $300 for a flight ($900 as a group of 3 not including stove fuel) that you have to leave some items behind...this could potentially include extra days food & safety equipment.

Pretty sure the last time I paid for myself was 2008 and it was more than $200 then.

Melaleuca is a short airstrip subject to some pretty extreme weather. No guarantee on a given day it will be safe to land, the weather / wind conditions might affect how heavy the plane can be, which plane they use. etc. etc.
If you know your going to be overweight you can make arrangements to have gear taken down early on another flight and left in the hut. They are usually pretty good with this sort of thing.

Some flexibility is required.

[Mark F]

You are dealing with light aircraft (Cessnas and Islanders) which have very restrictive weight limits if full of bodies. You are also dealing with, I believe, the shortest commercial runway in Australia. Also consider that Qantas, on Dash 8 services, restrict you to one 23kg bag. So give your back a break and pack for the 20kg limit.

[rangersac]

@Azza and @MarkF make good points about pack weight. If you are just doing one of the tracks or the SW Cape circuit you really shouldn't be over 20kg. If you are planning on staying longer, there is a food drop service for a pretty minimal extra cost.

[north-north-west]

Also consider that Qantas, on Dash 8 services, restrict you to one 23kg bag. So give your back a break and pack for the 20kg limit.

And carry your camera gear in a separate carry-on bag.

[weetbix456]

Yeaaa fair points - I just checked my receipt from a few years back and it was $290 in, $250 out - so my memory is obviously a tad hazy. Fresh off the phone this morning I was running a bit hot after the conversation - as I wasn't really offered another alternative other than shedding some gear weight before the flight if need be...of course I am happy to pay for a couple of kilos over if it was the case. Maybe I'm still caught up carrying tough chubby gear & bringing along plenty of tasty treats - but I still wouldn't call 20kg a heavy load for an expected 8 day walk...anyway, thanks for your responses - all will be well now I've had a day to collect my cool.

[rangersac]

Yeaaa fair points - I just checked my receipt from a few years back and it was $290 in, $250 out - so my memory is obviously a tad hazy. Fresh off the phone this morning I was running a bit hot after the conversation - as I wasn't really offered another alternative other than shedding some gear weight before the flight if need be...of course I am happy to pay for a couple of kilos over if it was the case. Maybe I'm still caught up carrying tough chubby gear & bringing along plenty of tasty treats - but I still wouldn't call 20kg a heavy load for an expected 8 day walk...anyway, thanks for your responses - all will be well now I've had a day to collect my cool.

Remember you won't have water and fuel on the plane so there's at least 2kg off your carrying load. As for the 20kg, it's pretty easy to meet that. Like you my gear would never be considered light weight, my standard long walk pack is a Macpac Cascade, I usually take a normal Trangia stove for the bombproofness factor, and a Tarptent Scarp 2 tent for starters. Even with 8 days food and the usual extras I can get it to around 18kg. It's those pesky bottles of wine and whisky hip flasks that weight things down!

[Nuts]

Ahha. Give one of the tourists your chubby excess

[doogs]

Wear as many clothes as possible and put any heavy stuff in your pockets!

[weetbix456]

Hmmm maybe i just can't remember the last time I walked with under 20kg - luxury!! Haha, I get that it is completely do'able, especially taking out water & fuel...I was just picturing some walkers who don't own any or much lightweight kit (or like to eat & drink wine!!) choosing to ditch a sleeping mat, extra fleece or an extra couple of days worth of food to get their weights down in that kind of scenario. I'm sure I am imagining away the reality.

On the other comment however, how much are people willing to pay for the service? Obviously you can always walk in - but if you didn't have the time - what would be too much? Similar to the Lake St Clair ferry scenario - as the only company running the transport, is there a limit to how much they can/should be aloud to up the price each year?

[Mark F]

Like many transport options it seems a bit expensive until you have to operate the service on a commercial basis and deal with weather, the hidden costs and any number of other issues. Ultimately if you want the service then it has to be profitable for the service provider. What is the commercial cost of getting out to Scotts Peak - not just petrol? About a 300km round trip taking 5-6 hours - wages, fuel, maintenance, rego, insurance, depreciation. Balance this against the value of the experience.

[Nuts]

That's fair enough, and there is even an expense for them if doing nothing, as well as in having pilots waiting to fly.

OTOH, these realities don't help discern 'value'. And at some stage in the company's continued growth, like on LSC, the random public passengers are less of a concern When you can provide an easier option/ get 'bread and butter' from commercial operators, or indeed build your own infrastructure and value added walks, or profit by the coming windfall from private huts.. one would think tedious one-way bushwalkers with their extra junk (or funk) won't be worth a second thought in pricing for the SCT. I doubt there's any 'mandatory service' provisions in their concession?

The questions that should be answered (now) are how far do we want these things to go. Is a longer airstrip/ bigger planes, more flights fair enough?

I suspect the weight of people will just keep on paying what is asked.. with the only relief from continued ingress... all in the developers favour and all that really matters in this model of wilderness management,

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

$300 is a bargain.

Flying in and out of short airstrips in a Britten Norman Islander is pretty much the best fun you can have with your pants on!

[GraemeSpedding]

Flew in in jan this year. They averaged the weight across my group, so although I was heavy at 22kg, I didn’t get charged. They are pretty helpful and flexible and they are flying into a remote strip in weather and conditions that can change pretty quickly.

[weetbix456]

Sooooo feedback from the recent trip. Overall - happy with the service for what we paid in the end...$300 for a one way flight with 20kg pack weight included - stunning views on a clear day, and a decent amount of air time (approx 1 hour). We did get our packs weighed in the end, and between the four of us we were 4kgs over in extra weight..which meant we simply had to pay about $20 or so on top of our tickets at the office on the day. This was the bit I was originally most snappy about - as they were not too clear over the phone whether we would be aloud to bring additional weight (if we were slightly over) at all. In reality they were pretty relaxed about this on site - so it seems like it would only be in very extreme cases where they would not allow you to add extra bulk at a price - which I am satisfied with. If you were based in Hobart - you could even have delivered a drop of extra food prior to your trip if you were really stressed. Happy days.