This is really interesting stuff ozfflyer, thanks for posting. As is the price info.
The obvious question, to my thinking, is, knowing this info, why do the ski fields, accom providers etc seem to charge less in September if the snow is historically better? I can only conclude that the conscious thinking of the skiing public has turned to spring pursuits and there's no appetite for skiing after August. The perception doesn't seem to match the reality but that's a win for for you I suppose.
think what happens is, non-skiers or skiers who have skied Australia before, ask their friends when to ski. In Brisbane the show week(EKKA), around mid August, is very popular with families. Wed is public holiday, but many schools have another day off & the remaining 3 days are often sport days or days when they do stuff all as so many kids away. Asked a ski shop once, when was their business time for hiring gear & they said Ekka week, not school holidays.
Personally I hope no one goes in Sept, as don't like lift queues, but business wise, everyone in each resort needs lots of people in Sept to survive, esp this year & next few, despite who wins the election, even if there is a winner.
The really crazy part is there's always much more snow in Qld Sept school holidays than in June/July holidays, but many seem to think that cos prices are higher for everything in June/July it must be better, whereas in most cases/years the opposite is true.
Resorts like Hotham & Falls used to get 1000s of Qlders, hell many used to drive to Falls, as it was the closest resort to Bris by road(few kms closer by rd, than NSW resorts).
Superior marketing by NZ, now means 1000s of Qlders go to NZ instead of OZ resorts, where the snow is supposed to be better(it isn't, but if they say it often enough people start to believe it)
So you're right, it's all perception, rather than fact. Perhaps resorts should highlight the snow depth graphs have posted above ? Perhaps, they need to make it easier for people to get to Falls & Hotham & Thredbo, Perisher etc.
Hotham airport used to have nonstop Qantaslink flights from Sydney & Melbourne, with easy connections from all over. Albury can take jets up to 737 size & economies of scale would bring fares down. Even with a 100 seater jet, they could have nonstop flights from say Brisbane twice a week, with express coaches going straight to Falls & Hotham.
There used to be nonstop jets from Brisbane to Cooma in ski season. Now from Bris or Gold Coast, the only easy way to get to NSW resorts is to fly to Canberra & spend another few hours driving, get a transfer or a coach.
Lift companies need to underwrite such flights & they can by packaging lift tickets. What's the incremental cost of "giving away" some lift tickets ? Very little, if otherwise the skiers are going to NZ.
Got an email this week from Air NZ, saying get $250 off any return fare to Queenstown & then get 30% off as many day tickets at Cardrona as you want, cos the economy is slowing fast.
Look at it in simplistic terms .........
say a 100 seater jet into Cooma or Albury from Brisbane or Gold Coast average cost is $400/person inc taxes & airport charges & a 5 day lift pass is $400. The lift company could say get return airfares & 5 day lift pass for $600, so in effect, the airfare looks like it costs $200. As flights become more popular, they could increase the price slightly or increase the number of flights or both. They could also open up the flights to Albury & Cooma locals. Albury & Cooma no longer have nonstop jet flights to Qld. They could even package up lift tickets & flights to Qld to locals. Fly to Qld in winter & when you get back, ski for $40/day ($200 divided by 5)
One thing good about Vail resorts, they would have the funds to guarantee such flights & if giant Vail resorts were underwriting flights, people would have confidence that flights wouldn't fall over.
Think Vail do a similar thing into Vail airport in USA, which is much better than flying into Denver.
Vail now has nonstop flights from LA, NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Phoenix & other parts of USA. They even had nonstop flights from Toronto, Canada.
Have a look at this route map
Elevate your travel — Fly EGE. To book your flight to or from Eagle County Regional Airport, click or tap the associated airline’s logo or contact their
www.flyvail.com
