Frustration over a Qantas upgrade changed the way I travel
A friend who had recently returned from a European family holiday sighed and ordered me to meet Amanda at a little agency called Brighton Travelworld.
And there, all my pride about organising everything myself melted away.
I inquired of Amanda whether she might know of an airline that offered premium economy at a reasonable price.
She looked me in the eye and said, 'You don't want to fly premium economy. It's not all that much better than economy.'
I knew this, I said, but we couldn't afford to pay outright to fly business class.
'We'll see about that,' said Amanda, applying flying fingers to her keyboard.
Having established that our travel dates were flexible, she conjured up two discounted business-class flights on Japan Airlines (JAL) travelling Melbourne to London via Tokyo and returning from Frankfurt. For less than half the best price I'd seen on the websites of major airlines. Return.
That was still quite a wad of loot, of course, but woowee, half price! Plus JAL had a reputation for excellence – and, as we discovered, fabulous Japanese food on board.
Anyway, we had been saving for this dad and daughter trip through all the long years of COVID and before. We jumped at the JAL deal, though it meant changing airports in Tokyo and staying overnight on the first leg.
No worries. Amanda arranged a driver to transfer us from Narita to Haneda airports and overnight accommodation in a splendid airport hotel.
Next, I needed advice.
Would it be best to pay point-to-point fares on trains that would take us from Scotland to London and on to Amsterdam, to a couple of stops in Belgium (Bruges and Ypres), to Paris, on to Switzerland and finally, Germany? Or would a Eurail Pass be cheaper and more efficient?
'Leave it with me. I have a specialist,' said Amanda, asking me to draw up a schedule for the train travel.
A few days later, she informed me that her specialist had acquired for us two suitable Eurail passes and had reserved first-class seats on each leg, though there were a couple of local trains that didn't require reservations.
Loading
First-class?
Turned out it wasn't vastly more expensive than 2nd, and it provided access to lounges at several railway stations, plus seat-service meals and guaranteed, extra comfortable seating in uncrowded carriages.
I probably wouldn't have ticked the option myself, but a travel agent had made the decision for me – a fait accompli!
It was worth every extra cent, we figured later, streaming through glorious European countryside in luxury.
Amanda arranged travel insurance and supplied our entire itinerary, complete with necessary coupons, in a handy travel purse.
Determined not to hand over all my previously accustomed autonomy, I did our own accommodation bookings through Qantas Hotels.
By paying with a combination of cash and points, we didn't have to shell out crippling amounts of money for excellent accommodation everywhere. We set a limit of about $250 a night in cash and topped up the remaining tariff with those Qantas points we had planned to use for the flight upgrades we'd never managed.
All that was left was car hire for a trip around Scotland.
Loading
We got lucky again.
I happened across rave reviews for a company called Celtic Legend.
Not familiar with the company, I emailed. A helpful fellow named Steve replied in minutes, assuring us they could arrange everything.
When I informed the company I didn't want to drive in Glasgow and would be heading out of town via Loch Lomond, there came a 'no worries' email.
They'd pick us up from the railway station and drive us to one of their depots on the edge of the city. And so it came to pass.
After a week travelling around Scotland, we dropped off the vehicle outside Edinburgh, with the offer of a lift to the tram into town, though we took an Uber.
A comparison with better-known car-rental companies showed we'd saved several hundred dollars.
I've promised another daughter a holiday down the track a bit.
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Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Swans on the surface': What it takes to be an air traffic controller
Melbourne Aerodrome and Airspace Services head Leanne Costin says: 'If you are tapping your foot on the floor, or if you're fidgeting and nervous as you do the work, this is not the job for you. 'You can't be stressed doing this.' Calm and controlled. And alert: there are far more coffee mugs in the tower than controllers on duty. An espresso machine can be seen. The casual dress code is almost like out of a tech start-up: lanyards, business shirts, jeans, hoodies, shorts and thongs, even. What counts is the quality of work. The tower is fully staffed at about 6am and until about 9pm and then it and when it goes into overnight schedule. There are two bedrooms in the Melbourne control tower – one on the seventh floor and another down on the ground floor – for a quick nap. Air traffic controllers who have had a busy night, for example, can recharge before they get on the road to drive home. Having a dedicated place for a quick nap is part of a fatigue management plan. There are 902 civilian air traffic controllers in the country, and they all work for Airservices Australia; it holds a monopoly on firefighting services at airports, too, also employing just over 1000 firefighters at airport's nationwide. ASA is a government-owned entity that raises money from fees charged to the airlines for its services. It's a big job. ASA is responsible for 11 per cent of the world's airspace that runs up across Australia and out west across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius and Colombo. The organisation conducted 3.9 million aircraft movements – take-offs, landings, midair direction – in 2024. This isn't only air traffic approaching and departing airports, but aircraft en route, at 38,000 feet, crossing the continent or travelling to and from Asia, North and South America, and Africa. The office place calm of Melbourne and Brisbane, where the other air traffic control centre is located, is shielded from outside disruptions. ASA faces a number of obstacles that can buffet the organisation: not only does its ageing equipment need upgraded, commercial aviation's post-COVID bounce back has increased the workload. Uncrewed aircraft and drones are also beginning to fill Australia's skies. Adding to the complexity stew, the military has 12 bases around the country that have functioned as their own 'islands' of air traffic control within Australia. Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp notes that improvements at airports will increase capacity for terminals and airlines in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, where a third runway is being built. Sydney is getting a fresh new airport with Western Sydney International coming online next year. But infrastructure support services needed to accommodate growth are in some cases '30 or 40 years' old, Sharp said. For this reason, the government was looking ahead when in 2009 it ordered Airservices Australia and the Department of Defence to work to harmonise the control of civilian and military aerospace. The goal is to build operational resilience, safety and increase efficiency by reducing the amount of system-to-system co-ordination and double-ups. ASA's decision to back the OneSKY project, a plan to fuse civil and military air control, is 'globally quite unique', Sharp said on one afternoon at the Melbourne facility. AirServices Australia anticipates that it will save $2.7 billion over 20 years – once the long-delayed program is fully operational. 'When you look at the geopolitics, I think this system will really stand Australia in good stead,' said Sharp. Loading China's decision to conduct naval drills in the Tasman Sea in February is a vivid example. Australia first learnt of it through a Virgin pilot who flagged it with air traffic controllers. Sharp says OneSKY will create more backbone for air control during climate-related events, too. Should a cyclone force the closure of one facility, another air traffic control centre can temporarily provide cover over the network. It 'gives us a lot more resilience to the weather that is occurring'. Most controllers aren't up in the tower but downstairs at Air Traffic Service Centre, a much larger room on the ground of the ASA's compound, on the far side of Melbourne's Airport, away from the terminals and parking. There are banks of radio scopes where the controllers sit, directing the air traffic over Australia, which itself is spliced up into smaller sectors. The vibe is alert but calm. The overhead lights are slightly dimmed. The intensity of fluorescent bulbs is reduced so that it doesn't wear out the eyes of air traffic controllers, who work for about two hours and then take a one-hour break, and then another two hours so they remain fresh for the entire process. To look closely at the screens, laid out in four banks, there's so much information overlapping that it looks, when zoomed out, like smudges of coal. It's only when you zoom in, and continue to zoom in, you can see the smudging is a cluster of symbols for aircraft in motion on the screen. The amount of information and communication is intense. From the time a flight pushes off from Sydney to the time it arrives at the gate in Melbourne, it would be passed through the hands of 14 controllers and five supervisors. As a systems supervisor, Sean Howard monitors the consoles used by the air traffic controllers. He will both react to and prepare for changes, including if there is a technology issue that affects coverage, for example, a radar malfunction. Howard said his work is 'like a triage doctor in an emergency room – we have to adapt to any issue'. The banks of radio scopes correspond to the geography in the country and beyond. On one row, there is coverage for Adelaide, Tasmania, then Melbourne, Sydney, then the Northwest, west and south of Melbourne, the Grampians area. And then there's Perth, whose aerospace has its own unique challenges because it accommodates fly in, fly out traffic which follows surges on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Howard said: 'Controllers try not to focus too much on thinking about the number of people they are looking after [on board the planes].' 'Rather we are part of the overall industry team, the pilots and airline staff are looking after the people on the plane and we are looking after the planes, ensuring every flight is given our equal and full attention.' His work 'is about resolving information on screens'. Sean says he's not an 'aviation nerd' by any means. While many ATCs fly and love planes, many others have the skills and knowledge required 'without a passion for aircraft'. Howard's career in air traffic control began just after high school, when he discovered the ATC Learning Academy in Tasmania where he grew up. At 17, he applied, completed the aptitude testing and interview, and started training. He began work in Melbourne at the start of 1994 and has worked as air traffic controller, line manager and supervisor. ATC 'is the only profession I have ever had and I look forward to coming to work every day'. Costin, the Melbourne Aerodrome head, said air traffic control was 'about task completion'. 'Identify the issue, solve it, even if it means handing a task off to the right person ... do that, then move on.' 'Controllers need to be able to take multi-inputs – they need to be able to multi-task.' It's also about decent pay. It's one of the few roles that can attract a six-digit starting salary for a qualified worker. There is no single background that prepares or forms the ideal personality for the work. Costin, who began her career as an elementary school teacher, said other jobs people have done before coming to air traffic control included being a military air traffic controller, police officers, firefighters, teachers, and even a croupier. O'Keefe, the line leader, says: 'It takes a certain personality that can take direction and work with others.' The ability to prioritise information is key. O'Keefe says air traffic controllers take two hours to tell a joke. 'They can start the joke, pause to complete a separate task, then come back to the joke, pause again for another task, and then come back to the same spot they left in the joke, and finish it.' 'This takes a certain personality,' she said. Although a calm prevails in the air traffic control centre, the upgrade of a system supporting 155 million passenger movements a year has experienced some turbulence. ASA's contract with French-company Thales, the maker of the joint civil-military air traffic management system (CMATS), has been audited three times by the Australian National Audit Office. From February 2018 to the end of 2024, OneSKY has added $160 million in cost overruns on a $1.2 billion contract. Thales' delivery of some elements of the contract had been slowed by COVID lockdowns, which prevented work being done onsite. Loading The complexity and stakes require years of testing to ensure the equipment and controllers gel into a seamless process. On the day the media visited, a handful of engineers were scattered through the brighter OneSky ATSC room. They were doing checks on the system – with access to live data inputs – but unable to output commands. The next step, ASA says, will be to bring over air traffic controllers into the new by 2027 for onsite testing. At that time, the lights will be dimmed, and the complexity of the work – along with the needed calm – will take up a new home within the Melbourne complex.
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
Australia aviation: Air traffic control - what it takes to be part of team monitoring 3.9 million aircraft movements
Melbourne Aerodrome and Airspace Services head Leanne Costin says: 'If you are tapping your foot on the floor, or if you're fidgeting and nervous as you do the work, this is not the job for you. 'You can't be stressed doing this.' Calm and controlled. And alert: there are far more coffee mugs in the tower than controllers on duty. An espresso machine can be seen. The casual dress code is almost like out of a tech start-up: lanyards, business shirts, jeans, hoodies, shorts and thongs, even. What counts is the quality of work. The tower is fully staffed at about 6am and until about 9pm and then it and when it goes into overnight schedule. Under bright lights: Testing the new OneSKY system. Credit: AARON FRANCIS There are two bedrooms in the Melbourne control tower – one on the seventh floor and another down on the ground floor – for a quick nap. Air traffic controllers who have had a busy night, for example, can recharge before they get on the road to drive home. Having a dedicated place for a quick nap is part of a fatigue management plan. There are 902 civilian air traffic controllers in the country, and they all work for Airservices Australia; it holds a monopoly on firefighting services at airports, too, also employing just over 1000 firefighters at airport's nationwide. ASA is a government-owned entity that raises money from fees charged to the airlines for its services. It's a big job. ASA is responsible for 11 per cent of the world's airspace that runs up across Australia and out west across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius and Colombo. The organisation conducted 3.9 million aircraft movements – take-offs, landings, midair direction – in 2024. This isn't only air traffic approaching and departing airports, but aircraft en route, at 38,000 feet, crossing the continent or travelling to and from Asia, North and South America, and Africa. The office place calm of Melbourne and Brisbane, where the other air traffic control centre is located, is shielded from outside disruptions. ASA faces a number of obstacles that can buffet the organisation: not only does its ageing equipment need upgraded, commercial aviation's post-COVID bounce back has increased the workload. Uncrewed aircraft and drones are also beginning to fill Australia's skies. Adding to the complexity stew, the military has 12 bases around the country that have functioned as their own 'islands' of air traffic control within Australia. Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp notes that improvements at airports will increase capacity for terminals and airlines in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, where a third runway is being built. Sydney is getting a fresh new airport with Western Sydney International coming online next year. But infrastructure support services needed to accommodate growth are in some cases '30 or 40 years' old, Sharp said. Systems supervisor Sean Howard. Credit: AARON FRANCIS For this reason, the government was looking ahead when in 2009 it ordered Airservices Australia and the Department of Defence to work to harmonise the control of civilian and military aerospace. The goal is to build operational resilience, safety and increase efficiency by reducing the amount of system-to-system co-ordination and double-ups. ASA's decision to back the OneSKY project, a plan to fuse civil and military air control, is 'globally quite unique', Sharp said on one afternoon at the Melbourne facility. AirServices Australia anticipates that it will save $2.7 billion over 20 years – once the long-delayed program is fully operational. 'When you look at the geopolitics, I think this system will really stand Australia in good stead,' said Sharp. Loading China's decision to conduct naval drills in the Tasman Sea in February is a vivid example. Australia first learnt of it through a Virgin pilot who flagged it with air traffic controllers. Sharp says OneSKY will create more backbone for air control during climate-related events, too. Should a cyclone force the closure of one facility, another air traffic control centre can temporarily provide cover over the network. It 'gives us a lot more resilience to the weather that is occurring'. Most controllers aren't up in the tower but downstairs at Air Traffic Service Centre, a much larger room on the ground of the ASA's compound, on the far side of Melbourne's Airport, away from the terminals and parking. There are banks of radio scopes where the controllers sit, directing the air traffic over Australia, which itself is spliced up into smaller sectors. The vibe is alert but calm. The overhead lights are slightly dimmed. The intensity of fluorescent bulbs is reduced so that it doesn't wear out the eyes of air traffic controllers, who work for about two hours and then take a one-hour break, and then another two hours so they remain fresh for the entire process. Airservices Australia CEO Rob Sharp. Credit: AARON FRANCIS To look closely at the screens, laid out in four banks, there's so much information overlapping that it looks, when zoomed out, like smudges of coal. It's only when you zoom in, and continue to zoom in, you can see the smudging is a cluster of symbols for aircraft in motion on the screen. The amount of information and communication is intense. From the time a flight pushes off from Sydney to the time it arrives at the gate in Melbourne, it would be passed through the hands of 14 controllers and five supervisors. As a systems supervisor, Sean Howard monitors the consoles used by the air traffic controllers. He will both react to and prepare for changes, including if there is a technology issue that affects coverage, for example, a radar malfunction. Howard said his work is 'like a triage doctor in an emergency room – we have to adapt to any issue'. The banks of radio scopes correspond to the geography in the country and beyond. On one row, there is coverage for Adelaide, Tasmania, then Melbourne, Sydney, then the Northwest, west and south of Melbourne, the Grampians area. And then there's Perth, whose aerospace has its own unique challenges because it accommodates fly in, fly out traffic which follows surges on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Howard said: 'Controllers try not to focus too much on thinking about the number of people they are looking after [on board the planes].' 'Rather we are part of the overall industry team, the pilots and airline staff are looking after the people on the plane and we are looking after the planes, ensuring every flight is given our equal and full attention.' His work 'is about resolving information on screens'. Sean says he's not an 'aviation nerd' by any means. While many ATCs fly and love planes, many others have the skills and knowledge required 'without a passion for aircraft'. Howard's career in air traffic control began just after high school, when he discovered the ATC Learning Academy in Tasmania where he grew up. At 17, he applied, completed the aptitude testing and interview, and started training. He began work in Melbourne at the start of 1994 and has worked as air traffic controller, line manager and supervisor. ATC 'is the only profession I have ever had and I look forward to coming to work every day'. Costin, the Melbourne Aerodrome head, said air traffic control was 'about task completion'. 'Identify the issue, solve it, even if it means handing a task off to the right person ... do that, then move on.' 'Controllers need to be able to take multi-inputs – they need to be able to multi-task.' It's also about decent pay. It's one of the few roles that can attract a six-digit starting salary for a qualified worker. There is no single background that prepares or forms the ideal personality for the work. Plenty of coffee mugs in the control tower. Credit: AARON FRANCIS Costin, who began her career as an elementary school teacher, said other jobs people have done before coming to air traffic control included being a military air traffic controller, police officers, firefighters, teachers, and even a croupier. O'Keefe, the line leader, says: 'It takes a certain personality that can take direction and work with others.' The ability to prioritise information is key. O'Keefe says air traffic controllers take two hours to tell a joke. 'They can start the joke, pause to complete a separate task, then come back to the joke, pause again for another task, and then come back to the same spot they left in the joke, and finish it.' 'This takes a certain personality,' she said. Although a calm prevails in the air traffic control centre, the upgrade of a system supporting 155 million passenger movements a year has experienced some turbulence. ASA's contract with French-company Thales, the maker of the joint civil-military air traffic management system (CMATS), has been audited three times by the Australian National Audit Office. From February 2018 to the end of 2024, OneSKY has added $160 million in cost overruns on a $1.2 billion contract. Thales' delivery of some elements of the contract had been slowed by COVID lockdowns, which prevented work being done onsite. Loading The complexity and stakes require years of testing to ensure the equipment and controllers gel into a seamless process. On the day the media visited, a handful of engineers were scattered through the brighter OneSky ATSC room. They were doing checks on the system – with access to live data inputs – but unable to output commands.
The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
Newcastle to become state's first berthing for luxury superyachts
The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club will be the beneficiary of $5 million in state funding to expand its berthing marina to accommodate up eight luxe superyachts in a move that it promises will be a boon for the regional tourism economy. Club CEO Paul O'Rourke said there were about 30 superyachts owned in Australia, but the country was a premier destination for repair and vessel maintenance in the Southern Hemisphere such that it was expected to account for some eight per cent of the global market by the end of the year, amounting to around 533 vessels. The funding is expected to be put towards building 200 metres of dedicated marina berth that is specifically designed to accommodate the larger vessels, with extra weight and power facilities. The move to expand the Newcastle marina on Hannell Street is expected to put Newcastle in a competitive stead with Queensland, long regarded as the Australian home for superyacht construction, and will represent the only such dedicated maintenance berth in NSW. Mr O'Rourke said, while Newcastle would not build the vessels, positioning the city as a maintenance hub for the yachts that are estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million a year to run, would unlock the Pacific for European travellers and see tourism spending flow through the Hunter. "There are probably over 30 superyachts in Australia at the moment," he said. "But the key is there are 100 coming. There are a lot of superyachts in Europe that all want to come to Australia and the Pacific, and at the moment we don't have the Pacific facilities." "We regularly get phone calls from boats out in Tahiti that want to come to Australia and park up. We haven't got the facility yet." Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the NSW Government's investment of $5 million, to which the Newcastle yacht club would add 20 per cent of the overall $6 million build costs, made sense for the state's second city. "We are a maritime city," she said. "So, it makes sense for us to can have those yachts that can travel from as far far as Europe on their way up to Northern Queensland and to further places into the Pacific." "This will become their go-to stopover." The yacht club's Commodore, Barry Kelly, said the completed projected which is estimated to be about two years away, would be equipped to provide "medium-level" maintenance to the vessels, replacing parts and servicing engines and complex onboard systems, that would generate jobs in the region. "Superyachts spend about four times as much in the region as they do on the berthing," he said. "Our spend on maintaining this facility in the last financial year was about $800,000." The funding has been carved out of the NSW Regional Development Trust, which Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty said was to prop up merit-based projects that would create jobs and economic boons for regional economies. "We have made a big deal out of this new fund and this new way of investing in our regions," she said. "This is really going to make a big difference for the local economy." The $70 million Callisto - believed to have been the largest and most expensive yacht to visit Newcastle - was spotted in the marina in 2019. lt is owned by Barbados billionaire Derrick Smith who was reportedly a co-owner of the renowned Coolmore Stud, which has operations in the Upper Hunter, Ireland and the US. The Australian superyacht sector is estimated to have a fleet value of over $7.5 billion, with annual maintenance expenditure of over $575 million. Operational expenditure in Australia, including crew wages and berthing, is worth about $400 million. A proposal document for the project, seen by the Newcastle Herald, lists more than 400 vessels over 30 metres based in the Asia Pacific. The industry is said to support about 14,500 full-time jobs, paying about $1.2 billion in wages and salaries, and with Sydney reaching capacity, overflow was being directed to Queensland and Victoria. The yacht club's pitch to secure funding amounted to positioning Newcastle to cater to provide a state's-first and one-stop shop for the super rich to dock and have their vessels serviced, estimated to represent up to 1400 jobs. According to Superyachts Australia, the number of luxury vessels in NSW has increased by 52 per cent since 2021, with 17 accounted for in 2023. The economic impact of a visiting vessel was estimated to be about $1.34 million that year. The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club will be the beneficiary of $5 million in state funding to expand its berthing marina to accommodate up eight luxe superyachts in a move that it promises will be a boon for the regional tourism economy. Club CEO Paul O'Rourke said there were about 30 superyachts owned in Australia, but the country was a premier destination for repair and vessel maintenance in the Southern Hemisphere such that it was expected to account for some eight per cent of the global market by the end of the year, amounting to around 533 vessels. The funding is expected to be put towards building 200 metres of dedicated marina berth that is specifically designed to accommodate the larger vessels, with extra weight and power facilities. The move to expand the Newcastle marina on Hannell Street is expected to put Newcastle in a competitive stead with Queensland, long regarded as the Australian home for superyacht construction, and will represent the only such dedicated maintenance berth in NSW. Mr O'Rourke said, while Newcastle would not build the vessels, positioning the city as a maintenance hub for the yachts that are estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million a year to run, would unlock the Pacific for European travellers and see tourism spending flow through the Hunter. "There are probably over 30 superyachts in Australia at the moment," he said. "But the key is there are 100 coming. There are a lot of superyachts in Europe that all want to come to Australia and the Pacific, and at the moment we don't have the Pacific facilities." "We regularly get phone calls from boats out in Tahiti that want to come to Australia and park up. We haven't got the facility yet." Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the NSW Government's investment of $5 million, to which the Newcastle yacht club would add 20 per cent of the overall $6 million build costs, made sense for the state's second city. "We are a maritime city," she said. "So, it makes sense for us to can have those yachts that can travel from as far far as Europe on their way up to Northern Queensland and to further places into the Pacific." "This will become their go-to stopover." The yacht club's Commodore, Barry Kelly, said the completed projected which is estimated to be about two years away, would be equipped to provide "medium-level" maintenance to the vessels, replacing parts and servicing engines and complex onboard systems, that would generate jobs in the region. "Superyachts spend about four times as much in the region as they do on the berthing," he said. "Our spend on maintaining this facility in the last financial year was about $800,000." The funding has been carved out of the NSW Regional Development Trust, which Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty said was to prop up merit-based projects that would create jobs and economic boons for regional economies. "We have made a big deal out of this new fund and this new way of investing in our regions," she said. "This is really going to make a big difference for the local economy." The $70 million Callisto - believed to have been the largest and most expensive yacht to visit Newcastle - was spotted in the marina in 2019. lt is owned by Barbados billionaire Derrick Smith who was reportedly a co-owner of the renowned Coolmore Stud, which has operations in the Upper Hunter, Ireland and the US. The Australian superyacht sector is estimated to have a fleet value of over $7.5 billion, with annual maintenance expenditure of over $575 million. Operational expenditure in Australia, including crew wages and berthing, is worth about $400 million. A proposal document for the project, seen by the Newcastle Herald, lists more than 400 vessels over 30 metres based in the Asia Pacific. The industry is said to support about 14,500 full-time jobs, paying about $1.2 billion in wages and salaries, and with Sydney reaching capacity, overflow was being directed to Queensland and Victoria. The yacht club's pitch to secure funding amounted to positioning Newcastle to cater to provide a state's-first and one-stop shop for the super rich to dock and have their vessels serviced, estimated to represent up to 1400 jobs. According to Superyachts Australia, the number of luxury vessels in NSW has increased by 52 per cent since 2021, with 17 accounted for in 2023. The economic impact of a visiting vessel was estimated to be about $1.34 million that year. The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club will be the beneficiary of $5 million in state funding to expand its berthing marina to accommodate up eight luxe superyachts in a move that it promises will be a boon for the regional tourism economy. Club CEO Paul O'Rourke said there were about 30 superyachts owned in Australia, but the country was a premier destination for repair and vessel maintenance in the Southern Hemisphere such that it was expected to account for some eight per cent of the global market by the end of the year, amounting to around 533 vessels. The funding is expected to be put towards building 200 metres of dedicated marina berth that is specifically designed to accommodate the larger vessels, with extra weight and power facilities. The move to expand the Newcastle marina on Hannell Street is expected to put Newcastle in a competitive stead with Queensland, long regarded as the Australian home for superyacht construction, and will represent the only such dedicated maintenance berth in NSW. Mr O'Rourke said, while Newcastle would not build the vessels, positioning the city as a maintenance hub for the yachts that are estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million a year to run, would unlock the Pacific for European travellers and see tourism spending flow through the Hunter. "There are probably over 30 superyachts in Australia at the moment," he said. "But the key is there are 100 coming. There are a lot of superyachts in Europe that all want to come to Australia and the Pacific, and at the moment we don't have the Pacific facilities." "We regularly get phone calls from boats out in Tahiti that want to come to Australia and park up. We haven't got the facility yet." Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the NSW Government's investment of $5 million, to which the Newcastle yacht club would add 20 per cent of the overall $6 million build costs, made sense for the state's second city. "We are a maritime city," she said. "So, it makes sense for us to can have those yachts that can travel from as far far as Europe on their way up to Northern Queensland and to further places into the Pacific." "This will become their go-to stopover." The yacht club's Commodore, Barry Kelly, said the completed projected which is estimated to be about two years away, would be equipped to provide "medium-level" maintenance to the vessels, replacing parts and servicing engines and complex onboard systems, that would generate jobs in the region. "Superyachts spend about four times as much in the region as they do on the berthing," he said. "Our spend on maintaining this facility in the last financial year was about $800,000." The funding has been carved out of the NSW Regional Development Trust, which Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty said was to prop up merit-based projects that would create jobs and economic boons for regional economies. "We have made a big deal out of this new fund and this new way of investing in our regions," she said. "This is really going to make a big difference for the local economy." The $70 million Callisto - believed to have been the largest and most expensive yacht to visit Newcastle - was spotted in the marina in 2019. lt is owned by Barbados billionaire Derrick Smith who was reportedly a co-owner of the renowned Coolmore Stud, which has operations in the Upper Hunter, Ireland and the US. The Australian superyacht sector is estimated to have a fleet value of over $7.5 billion, with annual maintenance expenditure of over $575 million. Operational expenditure in Australia, including crew wages and berthing, is worth about $400 million. A proposal document for the project, seen by the Newcastle Herald, lists more than 400 vessels over 30 metres based in the Asia Pacific. The industry is said to support about 14,500 full-time jobs, paying about $1.2 billion in wages and salaries, and with Sydney reaching capacity, overflow was being directed to Queensland and Victoria. The yacht club's pitch to secure funding amounted to positioning Newcastle to cater to provide a state's-first and one-stop shop for the super rich to dock and have their vessels serviced, estimated to represent up to 1400 jobs. According to Superyachts Australia, the number of luxury vessels in NSW has increased by 52 per cent since 2021, with 17 accounted for in 2023. The economic impact of a visiting vessel was estimated to be about $1.34 million that year. The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club will be the beneficiary of $5 million in state funding to expand its berthing marina to accommodate up eight luxe superyachts in a move that it promises will be a boon for the regional tourism economy. Club CEO Paul O'Rourke said there were about 30 superyachts owned in Australia, but the country was a premier destination for repair and vessel maintenance in the Southern Hemisphere such that it was expected to account for some eight per cent of the global market by the end of the year, amounting to around 533 vessels. The funding is expected to be put towards building 200 metres of dedicated marina berth that is specifically designed to accommodate the larger vessels, with extra weight and power facilities. The move to expand the Newcastle marina on Hannell Street is expected to put Newcastle in a competitive stead with Queensland, long regarded as the Australian home for superyacht construction, and will represent the only such dedicated maintenance berth in NSW. Mr O'Rourke said, while Newcastle would not build the vessels, positioning the city as a maintenance hub for the yachts that are estimated to cost between $2 million and $5 million a year to run, would unlock the Pacific for European travellers and see tourism spending flow through the Hunter. "There are probably over 30 superyachts in Australia at the moment," he said. "But the key is there are 100 coming. There are a lot of superyachts in Europe that all want to come to Australia and the Pacific, and at the moment we don't have the Pacific facilities." "We regularly get phone calls from boats out in Tahiti that want to come to Australia and park up. We haven't got the facility yet." Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the NSW Government's investment of $5 million, to which the Newcastle yacht club would add 20 per cent of the overall $6 million build costs, made sense for the state's second city. "We are a maritime city," she said. "So, it makes sense for us to can have those yachts that can travel from as far far as Europe on their way up to Northern Queensland and to further places into the Pacific." "This will become their go-to stopover." The yacht club's Commodore, Barry Kelly, said the completed projected which is estimated to be about two years away, would be equipped to provide "medium-level" maintenance to the vessels, replacing parts and servicing engines and complex onboard systems, that would generate jobs in the region. "Superyachts spend about four times as much in the region as they do on the berthing," he said. "Our spend on maintaining this facility in the last financial year was about $800,000." The funding has been carved out of the NSW Regional Development Trust, which Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty said was to prop up merit-based projects that would create jobs and economic boons for regional economies. "We have made a big deal out of this new fund and this new way of investing in our regions," she said. "This is really going to make a big difference for the local economy." The $70 million Callisto - believed to have been the largest and most expensive yacht to visit Newcastle - was spotted in the marina in 2019. lt is owned by Barbados billionaire Derrick Smith who was reportedly a co-owner of the renowned Coolmore Stud, which has operations in the Upper Hunter, Ireland and the US. The Australian superyacht sector is estimated to have a fleet value of over $7.5 billion, with annual maintenance expenditure of over $575 million. Operational expenditure in Australia, including crew wages and berthing, is worth about $400 million. A proposal document for the project, seen by the Newcastle Herald, lists more than 400 vessels over 30 metres based in the Asia Pacific. The industry is said to support about 14,500 full-time jobs, paying about $1.2 billion in wages and salaries, and with Sydney reaching capacity, overflow was being directed to Queensland and Victoria. The yacht club's pitch to secure funding amounted to positioning Newcastle to cater to provide a state's-first and one-stop shop for the super rich to dock and have their vessels serviced, estimated to represent up to 1400 jobs. According to Superyachts Australia, the number of luxury vessels in NSW has increased by 52 per cent since 2021, with 17 accounted for in 2023. The economic impact of a visiting vessel was estimated to be about $1.34 million that year.
