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Speaker 1: Now we know that Virgin is cutting flights into the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, which we covered last week. But in some

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Speaker 1: really good news, Air North is expanding, announcing the launch

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Speaker 1: of services between Alice Springs and Cans. The service is

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Speaker 1: going to operate three times a week as I understand it,

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Speaker 1: and joining us on the line right now is the

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Speaker 1: CEO of Air North, Daniel Barden. Good morning to you, Daniel.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Lovely to have you on the show. Now, mate, tell

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Speaker 1: us a little bit more about this service and what

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Speaker 1: days it's going to operate.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks, yet three times a week Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

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Speaker 2: Prices will be starting from two hundred and nine and

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Speaker 2: nine dollars and we'll be kicking this new service off

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Speaker 2: just in time for East at fourteenth of April.

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Speaker 1: That is great, great to hear, and I think some

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Speaker 1: really welcome news I would suggest for the people of

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Speaker 1: Alice Springs. Have you had much feedback so far, Daniel?

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Speaker 1: What are they saying to you?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been really positive. I mean this adds another

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Speaker 2: thirty thousand seats in and out of Alice Springs and

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Speaker 2: with combined with our perth Alis service which has had

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Speaker 2: a really successful start last year and our center run

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Speaker 2: service and all will be i think flying something around

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Speaker 2: the mark of seventy thousand seats in and out of

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Speaker 2: Alice Springs. So we're certainly you know, getting a good

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Speaker 2: response from the locals, and particularly on our perth Als service,

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Speaker 2: we're seeing you know, that taken up by five FO workers,

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Speaker 2: tour groups, you know, leisure travelers. So we're really happy

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Speaker 2: with the way it's progressing and what type.

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Speaker 1: Of aircraft is being used in sort of how many

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Speaker 1: seats on each aircraft.

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Speaker 2: Well, over the last four years, Ennorth actually increases jet

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Speaker 2: fleet by seventy five percent with the introduction of the

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Speaker 2: the Embraya E one ninety, which is one hundred set aircraft.

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Speaker 2: Formerly we were flying only the E one seventy, which

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Speaker 2: is seventy six seats. So with the extra thirty percent

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Speaker 2: sea capacity, we're actually now flying fifty percent more seats

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Speaker 2: in and out of the Northern Territory than we were

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Speaker 2: pre COVID. So we're the only airline that's actually grown

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Speaker 2: our number of seats in and out of the territory

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Speaker 2: and we're proud of that.

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Speaker 1: And is that as a result of the new Embrayer

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Speaker 1: or what sort of made that possible for Air North.

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Speaker 2: I mean during COVID, we continue to invest in the

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Speaker 2: business and improve our package. We've now currently employing over

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Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty people. We've got the most aircrew

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Speaker 2: that we've had in our forty seven year existence. So

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Speaker 2: we're in a good position now to start taking on

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Speaker 2: new services and this is one of them.

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Speaker 1: It is good news, and I think particularly at a

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Speaker 1: time when Territorians are really screaming out for that connectivity.

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Speaker 1: You know, we very often, to put it bluntly, we

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Speaker 1: feel like we're getting shafted sometimes by some of those

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Speaker 1: major airlines.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're trying. We're doing our best to increase capacity,

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Speaker 2: and increase capacity helps bring down prices. And we all

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Speaker 2: know prices in the top end can be high given

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Speaker 2: the distances and the small traveling numbers. But you know,

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Speaker 2: by investing in our business, growing our air fleet, growing

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Speaker 2: our season technical staff, you know, we're providing more seats

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Speaker 2: and that's helping bring down price.

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Speaker 1: So Daniel tell us again, when can people when are

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Speaker 1: those flights becoming available to book?

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Speaker 2: So from the folly becoming available to book today and

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Speaker 2: services keep off from the fourteenth of April.

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Speaker 1: And have you got any other plans when it comes

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Speaker 1: to further expansions for the Northern Territory or into any

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Speaker 1: other locations.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we've got the capability to continue to grow our

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Speaker 2: network and we'll do so prudently. The business has been

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Speaker 2: around forty seven years and that's because it does it

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Speaker 2: on a prudent basis. So when we start a service,

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Speaker 2: we continue that service. So it's our every intention to

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Speaker 2: keep building on the network and growing the number of

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Speaker 2: connections for territories.

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Speaker 1: Well, it is good news and lovely to speak to

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Speaker 1: you this morning. Airin North CEO Daniel Bowden, thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for your time.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Coti, thank you