Are Aussie airports taking the mick?

Airports are raking in millions of dollars in profit from slugging motorists hefty carpark fees.

Almost 70 cents in every dollar you spend on airport parking becomes profit, research by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission shows.

Melbourne Airport reaped the biggest profits from parking fees – a whopping $107.6 million in 2014/15, the ACCC’s Airport Monitoring Report 2014-15 found.

And although Perth Airport had the lowest profit from carparks, it still raked in $41.5 million.

Melbourne might rake in a tidy profit from its carparks, but the report also shows that services there and Sydney Aiport are only “satisfactory”.

The report says that over the past 11 years the prices and profits for services at airports have been steadily growing, despite the overall quality declining.

Aeronautical services such as aircraft landing assistance, as well as passenger facilities like kerbside taxi facilities, car parking and airport management responsiveness.

Passengers and airlines found Brisbane and Perth airports had “good” services in 2014/15, while Sydney and Melbourne were rated as “satisfactory”.

“An unconstrained monopolist would be expected to exercise its market power to increase prices and provide lower service quality outcomes over time,” the ACCC report said.

“All monitored airports have seen their earnings increase in real terms over the past decade, while quality of service outcomes have declined slightly.”

Sydney Airport chief executive Kerrie Mather was happy services had been maintained at the top end of satisfactory ratings despite strong growth in traffic and disruption from increased improvement works.

“We thank passengers for their patience during ongoing airport improvement works and we continue to listen to their feedback as we work to deliver a positive experience at Sydney Airport,” she said.

“We also continue to consult closely with our airline partners and airport stakeholders to ensure that our investment in infrastructure and services reflects their business needs and is made in line with demand.”

Perth Airport chief executive Brad Geatches said customers were clearly enjoying an enhanced experience due to the company’s recent investments in their facility.

“We expect to see further improvements when the new facilities are included in the reporting period,” he said.

The ACCC did note the quality of airport services may improve in future on the back of large investments in aeronautical assets 2014/15.

HOW MUCH AIRPORTS MAKE FROM CARPARKS

Airport: Melbourne

Hourly parking: $14

Daily rate: $39

Profit: $107.6 million

Airport: Sydney

Hourly rate: $16

Daily rate: $30

Profit: $91.5 million

Airport: Brisbane

Hourly rate: $15

Daily rate: $48

Profit: $56.8 million

Airport: Perth

Hourly rate: $8.50

Daily rate: $23

Profit: $41.5 million

HOW AIRLINES AND PASSENGERS RATED AIRPORT SERVICES OVERALL:

Brisbane, Perth – Good

Sydney, Melbourne – Satisfactory

(Source: ACCC)

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