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Aussie company to offer "all you can fly" air services between major cities

Xinhua, January 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Business travelers who fly frequently between Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne will soon have a hassle-free alternative to long airport lines, security checks and congested traffic.

Fairfax Media has reported that Airly, a start-up company aimed at reducing wasted time for business travelers, would offer clients an alternative to flying bigger carriers, offering services from smaller, quieter airports that serve Australia's busiest cities.

Airly would require a one-off joining fee, then offer businesses unlimited travel for a monthly "membership" fee, effectively allowing travelers an "all you can fly" service between the three cities on an 8-seater King Air turboprop.

Currently, the air route between Melbourne and Sydney is one of the busiest in the world, meaning both airports are congested at peak times, with trips between the centers often taking up to four hours once transfers, queues and wait times are taken into account.

By using smaller, quieter airports and offering just 8 seats on every flight, business travelers in a hurry only have to check-in fifteen minutes before departure, allowing extra flexibility and minimizing wasted time in departure lounges.

Luke Hampshire, who, along with Alexander Robinson, is forming the start-up, said that it appeals to businesses with a high number of travel days, which often find that productivity is lost because of queues, waiting and long transfers.

Hampshire said Airly could cut the "four hour" travel window in half.

"The several hundred (members) we are looking for are keen as mustard to save time," Hampshire told Fairfax Media on Monday.

"It is going to save them about two hours per round trip. We are working off a membership number. We have a lot of people showing significant interest in it now."

Airly is expected to begin offering 54 weekly services between Canberra Airport, Melbourne's Essendon Airport and Sydney's Bankstown Airport. Endit