Ferry Sunk

A few weeks ago I posted about the “Timor Ferry“; a high speed Darwin-Bali ferry service which, it was claimed, would be operational by the end of the year. A comment from ednaxe (who I suspect might know a thing or two more about ferries than I do) about the original post seems to put paid to this suggestion in a most comprehensive manner:

The site claims that the ships were built in Hobart, Tasmania, indicating that they were built by Incat. First of all, Incat has a list http://www.incat.com.au/domino/incat/incatweb.nsf/v-title/Ships%20in%20Service?OpenDocument of all the ships they have built, indicating that they have only sold three ships to Condor, only two of which are as large as the Timor Ferry site describes, and all of which are still in service. Secondly, even if Timor Ferry did buy these ships from Condor, their maximum service speed is 40 knots, meaning the Bali-Darwin trip would take at least 24 hours. The site makes reference to “reclining seats”, but realistically such a service would need to retrofit the ferries with sleeping berths, greatly decreasing capacity. Thirdly, the fuel costs on such a long route would almost certainly make high-speed service unprofitable (Stena Line found even the 100nm Harwich-Hook of Holland route was too long for high-speed ferries to meet fuel costs).

Unfortunately, Timor Ferry sounds more like an attempt to scam some “investors” than a realistic proposal.

I think, in the absence of some startling evidence to the contrary this is dead in the water, as it were. Cheers ednaxe for clearing this up.

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Qantas Aussie Getaway Sale

Qantas domestic sale on now until midnight (AEST) Monday 5 May 2008. Price includes a minimum 1,000 Frequent Flyer points.

These great deals are available for travel between:

• 20 May and 26 June,
• 23 July and 17 September, and
• 15 October and 10 December 2008.

Sydney to	One-way from
Canberra	$85
Brisbane	$95
Gold Coast	$95
Melbourne	$99
Adelaide	$120
Hobart	$125
Cairns	$169
Alice Springs	$198
Ayers Rock (Uluru)	$198
Perth	$209

Canberra to	One-way from
Sydney	$85
Melbourne	$95
Adelaide	$105
Brisbane	$115

Melbourne to	One-way from
Adelaide	$75
Canberra	$95
Sydney	$99
Hobart	$99
Brisbane	$119
Alice Springs	$179
Ayers Rock (Uluru)	$185
Perth	$198

Brisbane to	One-way from
Sydney	$95
Canberra	$115
Melbourne	$119
Cairns	$129
Adelaide	$135
Alice Springs	$209
Perth	$299

Cairns to	One-way from
Brisbane	$129
Sydney	$169
Alice Springs	$229

Gold Coast to	One-way from
Sydney	$95

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Better late than never – Tiger Airways Sale

Tiger Airways are also running a sale and the discounts, although they don’t look to be as deep, may be easier to book. Thought it deserved a mention – most of the fares are for travel in May.

Another Jetstar Sale – Companion fare for $4

Jetstar have launched a take a friend sale!

In our exciting 4th Birthday Sale you can book 2 JetSaver Light^ fares, with carry on baggage only, and total price will be one JetSaver Light fare plus just $4!

On flights to Japan and Honolulu, the total price for 2 is just one JetSaver fare, which includes checked baggage, plus just $4.

Or if you and your friend want to travel to another destination with checked baggage allowance, book a JetSaver fare for just $10 more per person for domestic or $20 more per person for international flights. It’s your choice!

The fares shown below are the price per passenger. These fares will be booked as 2 equal fares, and must be booked in pairs. When you search, sale fares will be identified by our special birthday sale fare banner!

On sale now until midnight (23.59 AEST) Monday 5 May 2008, unless sold out prior. For travel on selected days and flights only. Limited availability on Fridays and Sundays.

International Routes	Travel period		JetSaver fares in $AUD	JetSaver Light fares in $AUD
	23 Jul – 17 Sep 08	15 Oct – 10 Dec 08
Brisbane Christchurch			$126.50	$106.50
Brisbane Osaka			$246.50
Cairns Nagoya			$216.50
Cairns Osaka			$216.50
Gold Coast Christchurch			$126.50	$106.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Bangkok			$246.50	$226.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Christchurch			$126.50	$106.50
Sydney Christchurch			$126.50	$106.50
Sydney Ho Chi Minh City			$246.50	$226.50
Sydney Honolulu			$281.50
Sydney Kuala Lumpur			$221.50	$201.50
Sydney Osaka			$246.50

Australian Domestic Routes	Travel period		JetSaver fares in $AUD	JetSaver Light fares in $AUD
	23 Jul – 17 Sep 08	15 Oct – 10 Dec 08
Adelaide Cairns			$96.50	$86.50
Adelaide Darwin			$91.50	$81.50
Adelaide Gold Coast			$61.50	$51.50
Adelaide Sunshine Coast			$66.50	$56.50
Brisbane Adelaide			$61.50	$51.50
Brisbane Cairns			$71.50	$61.50
Brisbane Darwin			$91.50	$81.50
Brisbane Hamilton Island			$56.50	$46.50
Brisbane Launceston			$76.50	$66.50
Brisbane Mackay			$46.50	$36.50
Brisbane Newcastle			$36.50	$26.50
Brisbane Rockhampton			$41.50	$31.50
Brisbane Townsville			$64.00	$54.00
Brisbane Whitsunday Coast			$51.50	$41.50
Cairns Darwin			$91.50	$81.50
Gold Coast Newcastle			$41.50	$31.50
Melbourne (Avalon) Adelaide			$36.50	$26.50
Melbourne (Avalon) Brisbane			$61.50	$51.50
Melbourne (Avalon) Perth			$101.50	$91.50
Melbourne (Avalon) Sydney			$46.50	$36.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Ballina Byron Bay			$61.50	$51.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Cairns			$91.50	$81.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Darwin (only available on flights JQ677/JQ678 )			$71.50	$61.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Gold Coast			$56.50	$46.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Hamilton Island			$91.50	$81.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Hobart			$46.50	$36.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Launceston			$36.50	$26.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Newcastle			$36.50	$26.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Sunshine Coast			$61.50	$51.50
Melbourne (Tullamarine) Townsville			$106.50	$96.50
Sydney Adelaide			$66.50	$56.50
Sydney Ballina Byron Bay			$46.50	$36.50
Sydney Brisbane (not available on flight JQ18 )			$46.50	$36.50
Sydney Cairns			$76.50	$66.50
Sydney Fraser Coast			$46.50	$36.50
Sydney Gold Coast			$46.50	$36.50
Sydney Hamilton Island			$86.50	$76.50
Sydney Launceston			$51.50	$41.50
Sydney Hobart			$56.50	$46.50
Sydney Sunshine Coast			$51.50	$41.50
Sydney Townsville			$71.50	$61.50
Sydney Whitsunday Coast			$61.50	$51.50

Why-o-why am I always out when airlines launch their best sales? If your actually manage to get onto the site AND complete the booking process let us know.

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Darwin – Bali Ferry Service to Launch?

UPDATE

Please note ednaxe’s comment below which has convinced me at least that there’s no truth to this.

Darwin may have a sea-link with Bali if the oddly-named “Timor Ferry” makes it from website to actuality. The single-page site claims two state of art catamarans – capable of carrying 750 passengers to ply the 950-odd nautical mile journey across the Indian Ocean – have already been acquired. The service will travel daily between ‘Cullen Bay Marina in Darwin and Bali Benoa Marina in South Bali’ with plans to launch the service ‘towards the end of 2008’. No word on whether it would accommodate vehicles.

This single website is only mention I can find of any planned service.

This seems a strange turn of events, even given that tourist numbers have been recovering recently (including tourists from Australia – despite the Australian government continuing travel warnings against travel to Indonesia, notwithstanding Indonesian protests).

I would be surprised if there was sufficient demand to justify a passenger ferry link or if such a link were competitive with direct flights from other Australian capitals (even if fares have become reasonably steep with only Jetstar ploughing the route as a budget carrier).

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