As Western Sydney International Airport (WSIA) prepares for its first international departures, 26 October, Corporate Traveller says the new airport is set to change the way Western Sydney businesses travel.
One of its customers took one of the first international flights. Jose Sanz, head of asset delivery at JCDecaux Australia and New Zealand, travels regularly to Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth on business and was on the first flight out to the Cook Islands.
“I live in Penrith, so Western Sydney International is about half an hour from my front door. Having the option to fly from my side of Sydney, rather than heading across the city to Sydney Airport, is ideal,” Sanz said.
“Sydney Airport’s curfew limits how late you can fly home, but a 24/7 airport changes the equation. I could fly out in the morning, spend the day with the team, have dinner with them, and still get home the same day, ready to keep going the next morning. For someone who travels interstate regularly, that flexibility is a game-changer.
“Our Prestons site near Liverpool is much easier to reach from Western Sydney than from the city. For our business, and for plenty of others based out west, WSIA gives us a real alternative that’s better located for where we actually work.”
How much business Western Sydney International attract will come down to the routes and how frequent the flights are.
Corporate Traveller General Manager NSW/ACT Tore Bruce said Sanz’s experience reflected what many businesses in Western Sydney stood to gain.
“For businesses based in Western Sydney, the trip across the city to Sydney Airport has long been part of the cost of doing business. Western Sydney International changes that,” Bruce said.
“A curfew-free airport opens up same-day return travel in a way that simply wasn’t possible before, and for small and medium businesses, where every hour away from the office counts, that’s a big deal. As airlines add routes and frequencies, we’ll be helping our customers make the most of having a second airport on their doorstep.”
