Western Sydney Airport opens: compare airlines, ground access and the whole journey

01

What changed on opening day

Australia’s newest passenger airport has opened in the Sydney metropolitan area. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared Western Sydney International Airport open at the ceremony on 25 October. ABC reported that Jetstar flight JQ362 to the Gold Coast took off that day, providing an account of an actual departure alongside the opening announcement. [S1] [S2]

Opening day did not bring every subsequent route into service. The Prime Minister’s speech described Air New Zealand’s Auckland service as scheduled for the following day, 26 October. International inaugurations, additional flights and ground connections have separate schedules. A traveller needs to establish whether the destination and return journey required on a particular date are available, beyond simply finding the airport in a booking menu. [S1]

The new choice comes after deciding to travel to Sydney: which airport to use, and how to complete the journey from there. Home location, the final destination, travelling companions and baggage all affect that decision. Someone seeking the shortest trip to the city centre and someone visiting family or a business in the west may get different benefits from the same airfare. Specifying both ends of the journey makes the alternatives comparable.

An individual traveller’s benefit also differs from a market-wide result. A family gaining access to a nearby airport receives a concrete benefit even before national fare effects can be measured. Claims that airfares have fallen, tourism has grown on a net basis or company profits have increased require evidence over comparable periods. Understanding the change to individual itineraries provides a useful starting point for reading those later figures.

02

Airports and airlines compete at different levels

The ACCC’s September 2026 domestic airline competition report separates competition between airports from competition between airlines. It identifies potential pressure on airport charges, commercial terms and service quality, while expecting Qantas Group to be the sole domestic airline group at opening and airline competition benefits to take time. That September assessment is not a measurement of outcomes after opening. [S3]

Airports supply facilities and services to airlines; airlines sell routes and fares to passengers. A second airport can give an airline another location and another contracting counterpart. Where that airline serves the same passengers at both airports, a change in its bargaining options does not by itself give the traveller an additional independent seller.

Even a reduction in airport charges need not pass through dollar for dollar to a ticket. Airlines price against demand, departure times, seat availability, competing offers and conditions covering baggage and changes. Lower airport costs could make a service easier to sustain. At a heavily demanded time, some benefit could instead remain in the airline’s margin. Pass-through is something to examine in comparable selling prices.

The evidence therefore has two layers. On the airport side, look for changes in commercial terms and service. On the passenger side, compare independent airline groups, routes, times and purchase conditions. Leaving out the connection between them invites an unsupported expectation of universal fare cuts. Reading economic figures on a consistent basis explains the broader discipline of matching dates and definitions.

03

Count corporate groups as well as brands

Qantas Group’s 10 June announcement set out plans for Qantas and Jetstar at Western Sydney, including future Qantas services using a QantasLink Embraer E190. The brands belong to the same group; two names cannot simply be counted as two independent corporate groups. Figure 1 compares their launch stages. [S4]

Brand differences still matter to passengers. Differences in included services, flexibility, sales channels, seats or the onboard experience can widen the product range. The benefit of more products and the effect of competition between separately owned sellers deserve separate assessment. A group can serve different customers through different products, making a count of brand names a crude measure of competitive pressure.

The comparison also needs a route. An airline present at an airport is not an alternative for a traveller unless it offers the required destination on the relevant date. Adding an international carrier to a domestic route’s competitor count, or treating a future launch as an available service, overstates usable choice. An inexpensive outward flight may be unattractive if the return does not fit.

A comparison sheet can give separate fields to the selling brand, operating airline, corporate group, route and operating date. With codeshares or connections, identify who sells the ticket and who operates the aircraft. This does not determine whether conduct is unlawful or a market is monopolised. It records the unit being counted, allowing later entry to be compared on the same basis.

04

A 24-hour airport still needs a workable connection

Transport for NSW lists WSI Link to St Marys station as a fare-free shuttle and the Metro line as under construction. Figure 3 shows the published windows by service day. Check a usable route for the travel date, including the journey to the station. [S5]

Work backwards from the flight. Allow for the airline’s check-in deadline, security and movement through the terminal, then find a bus and the preceding journey to the station that arrive in time. An airport’s operating hours do not guarantee a connection from home. Waiting time and the first available service determine whether an attractive fare is usable.

For the return, scheduled landing is not the time of arrival at the bus stop. Disembarkation, baggage collection and, where relevant, immigration take time. Check the cost and availability of an alternative if the flight is late. A normal connection can work on paper while a small delay near the end of service forces a different way home. An early departure and a late arrival can impose different burdens despite an identical fare saving.

A service window is not a stop-specific last departure or a guarantee of connection to a flight. Before booking, consult the timetable for the travel date, direction and any works or changes. Assuming a 15-minute wait from a 30-minute frequency also requires assumptions about arrival patterns. Writing down the consequence of missing one connection prevents the plan from depending entirely on a single optimistic sequence.

05

Turn advertised fares into comparable purchases

Fix travel dates, passenger numbers, destination and the required arrival time before comparing airports. Then match outward and return services, checked bags, seat selection and change or refund conditions. Comparing a bare minimum fare with a flexible work ticket mixes the airport difference with a product difference. Record the quote time so that later price changes can be traced to a defined starting point.

Distinguish optional extras from extras necessary for the particular traveller. Someone carrying a large bag needs its charge in the cost of using the ticket. A solo passenger who can skip seat selection and a parent checking seating with a child face different requirements. Where products cannot be fully matched, put the unmatched condition next to the price gap rather than presenting the cheaper product as equivalent. If cancellation is possible, separately record the non-refundable amount and the payment required for a change. Do not deduct an assumed insurance reimbursement before establishing the cover and its conditions.

An itinerary using different airports outward and homeward can also be compared, but parking may change the result. A car left at the departure airport still needs to be collected after returning elsewhere. Family drop-offs involve the driver’s distance and time even without a cash payment. Calling that lift costless removes a burden simply because someone else bears it. Record both the payer and where the resource is used.

The distinction between one visible price and the final bill is also explored in energy prices and actual household or business charges. In air travel, baggage, access, time and flexibility intervene. That analogy cannot predict a proportional fare reduction when fuel becomes cheaper. Build an itinerary estimate from products actually offered for purchase; use separate evidence and periods to explain market-wide causes.

06

Match the passenger count before adding costs

Airfares are usually counted per passenger, a taxi may be charged per vehicle, and parking may depend on one vehicle and the number of days. Convert them first to cash expenditure for the whole trip. If dividing back to a per-person figure, state the passenger count. Four people sharing a car and one person taking a train face different patterns of non-airfare cost. A universal recommendation of one airport misses that distinction.

Trip length matters too. Overnight parking and a long stay can produce different ground costs against the same fare gap. Availability of a lift or the need for an extra hotel night after a late return may also constrain the choice. Before filling in every amount, identify which costs depend on people, days or flight times. That makes the estimate easier to revise when plans change.

International visitors also need a common currency. If the ticket is quoted in a home currency and ground access in Australian dollars, use a consistent conversion date and payment assumptions. Card conversion and fees can differ from an indicative market exchange rate. Compare the gap in Australian dollars, then revisit the amount payable in the traveller’s own currency. How exchange rates reach everyday and business costs provides background.

The next example adds a ticket, required extras and ground access for one person travelling one way, all in Australian dollars. Alternatives A and B are fictional: neither is a price list for a real airport, a current airfare or a current transport quote. The figures demonstrate a method. Readers can replace them with dated purchase quotes and extend the sheet to a return trip or a family journey.

07

Worked example: a $50 fare gap becomes $5 in cash

In fictional alternative A, the ticket costs A$100, required extras A$20 and ground access A$45. In B, the respective amounts are A$150, A$10 and A$10. The one-person, one-way cash totals are A$165 and A$170. A’s fare is A$50 cheaper, but its advantage falls to A$5 after extras and access. A stacked bar chart compares the three components from a common zero baseline through to the total.

The result changes with the traveller’s needs. If travelling lighter reduces A’s extras to A$10, its total becomes A$155. If A’s ground access instead rises by A$20, its total becomes A$185, or A$15 more than B. Baggage and access alone can reverse the conclusion without changing the headline fare. Recording the component responsible for the gap is more useful for another itinerary than memorising an airport name.

Include necessary expenditure without duplication. Do not add the same bag charge again if it is already included in the ticket. Check whether a car hire quote excludes parking or fuel. Match eligibility and timing when an alternative relies on a discount. Correct arithmetic still produces a misleading travel comparison if the sheet counts one service twice or omits a required leg.

08

Compare time separately from cash

Add an assumption that A requires 100 minutes of ground travel and B 40 minutes. Keep flying time equal; the comparison here concerns the extra 60 minutes on the ground. A saves A$5 in cash but takes an hour longer. The cash and time comparisons now favour different alternatives. The choice depends on what that hour would otherwise be used for.

To express time in money, use an hourly value chosen by the traveller. Calling it v Australian dollars, A minus B is minus A$5 plus v. At v=0, A is preferable by A$5; at 10, B by A$5; at 30, B by A$25. The break-even value is A$5 an hour. This is a scenario calculation, not an estimate derived from wage statistics.

The time valuation is not a bill payable to anyone. It provides a personal comparison on a common scale. Someone able to work while travelling and someone caring for children or managing luggage may value the same hour differently. Saving holiday time and minimising cash spending can also lead to different choices. If no single hourly value feels suitable, retain the ranking under several assumptions, such as 0, 10 and 30.

Keep burdens that do not suit monetisation in separate fields: long walks, stairs at a transfer, an accessible route, an early start, fatigue or constraints on travelling companions. Inventing scores can make an unusable itinerary appear best overall. For a practical decision, first retain the alternatives meeting essential requirements, then compare cash and time.

09

Four travellers change which costs can be shared

Test the passenger count with a separate fictional scenario using A and B. Tickets and required extras are paid per person, while ground access of A$45 and A$10 is assumed to cover one shared vehicle. Assume seating and luggage requirements fit; do not apply this formula where access is charged per person. Keep one-person and four-person totals distinct.

For four people, A costs (100+20)×4+45=A$525 and B (150+10)×4+10=A$650. A saves A$125 in cash. Per person, the totals are A$131.25 and A$162.50, a gap of A$31.25. The one-person saving of A$5 changes because the ticket difference increases with passenger numbers while the assumed access-cost difference remains for one vehicle.

For n people under these conditions, total cash expenditure in A minus B is −40×n+35 Australian dollars. It gives −5 at n=1 and −125 at n=4, matching the component sums. If more people require a second or larger vehicle, access cost stops being constant. Obtain a new quote at that point instead of continuing to increase n in an unchanged formula.

Extending time to the family also requires each person’s extra time. If A adds the same 60 minutes for all four, the total is four person-hours. With an identical hourly value for everyone, A$31.25 per person-hour balances the A$125 cash saving. Rather than counting four people’s time as one person’s or imposing a common value, use the figures to discuss the shared budget and individual needs.

10

Stress-test the fallback without inventing probabilities

A difficult part of planning is the burden when the itinerary does not run to schedule. If a bus connection is missed, can the traveller wait, take a taxi or find accommodation? Once cost and availability are known, compare the normal journey with a missed-connection case in two columns. There is no need to invent a delay probability to compress the cases into an expected value.

If A’s fallback in the fictional example costs A$60 more than normal access, its cash total after a missed connection becomes A$225. Retain both that amount and the normal A$165, and decide when to switch plans. Neither charge A$225 as a certainty nor erase it as impossible. Affordability and the ability to wait are real constraints.

Reliable operating records could later support a study of delays on the same route and at the same time of day. Trial operations, another airport or observations restricted to clear weather cannot readily supply a probability for a particular flight. The spread towards slower journeys matters alongside the average. Highly detailed arithmetic cannot correct a mismatch in the observation period or route.

A business traveller can also keep the consequence of missing a meeting outside a single money score. Set requirements for arriving the previous day, maintaining a buffer or retaining the right to change flights. Compare costs among the alternatives satisfying those requirements. A cheap but unsuitable itinerary drops out; the additional expense of a suitable one can then be explained concretely. This connects timing uncertainty to a booking decision.

11

Usable choice depends on overlapping schedules

Place the airport and ground services on one clock to see their different windows. Gaps in Figure 3 mark time outside the published window. A date- and direction-specific timetable is still needed; airport operating hours cannot fill a shuttle gap. Connecting the whole journey in time exposes missing links that route names alone conceal.

Even a landing within the bus window may fail to connect to the onward train. In the opposite direction, reaching the first airport bus requires a way to reach its starting station. An itinerary depends on successive legs meeting in place and time, beyond each leg merely existing. A sequence of departures and arrivals exposes that connection more clearly than a route map alone.

A similar distinction appears in other markets. Italy’s electricity demand and the cost of timing examines supply when it is needed versus quantity over an entire period. For an air journey, use actual flight, bus and train times rather than borrowing electricity data. The common question is whether a service is usable at the required time before quantities are added.

After the Metro opens, the ground leg can be replaced in the same itinerary comparison. Update fares, first and last services, transfers and journey time instead of retaining the earlier bus assumptions. Crediting a future railway against today’s trip cost would rely on an unavailable connection. Separating opening-day effects from later transport improvements also makes their respective benefits easier to examine.

12

Benefits differ across origins and destinations

The intuition that a western airport saves time for western residents can be tested against an address and a route. A shorter straight-line distance may still involve a less convenient road approach, transfer or departure time. Comparing two routes reaching the same destination at the same time is more useful than declaring the centre, east or west universally favoured. Airport location alone cannot supply a travel-time saving.

Tourism businesses face a different question: what arriving passengers do near the airport. More arrivals do not mean that everyone stays locally. Passengers continuing elsewhere, returning home or making a day visit generate different accommodation, food and transport spending. Moving from flight numbers to local sales requires information on trip purpose, nights and destinations.

A conference or exhibition organiser can list guests’ origins and required arrival times. A new-airport route may suit one origin while adding transfers for another. Benefits need not reach all invitees equally. Checking itineraries for the main origins is more practical than using an airport-wide average, and can reveal burdens that a shuttle, accommodation arrangement or revised start time would ease.

For the region as a whole, distinguish newly generated trips from trips diverted from the existing airport. A diverted passenger can still benefit from shorter access, but counting that passenger as an addition to national demand duplicates an existing journey. Relocated spending differs from increased total spending. As with the transmission of an overseas slowdown to local work, trace where bookings, visits and expenditure actually arise.

13

Businesses may have schedule constraints before price

Comparing business travel does not require classifying every minute of airport access as lost work. Equally, do not ignore costs where travel changes staffing, adds a driver or requires accommodation. Set the meeting or site-work start time, equipment needs and potential changes before comparing suitable tickets. A repeatable business journey may be a different product from an individual’s cheapest holiday trip.

Where the booker and traveller differ, ask where omitted burdens go. A cheaper ticket may lead a local team to arrange a car or require an employee to stay overnight. The air-travel budget falls while another budget rises. Alongside departmental accounts, collect spending needed to complete the business task so that the company-wide comparison is visible.

For freight and procurement, a passenger opening is not automatically a change to shipment terms. Goods, temperature requirements, handover points, collection cut-offs, customs and ground transport need separate checks. News of a passenger flight does not establish that a particular shipment can travel on it. Obtain a quote from the contracting provider rather than treating passenger convenience as proof of cargo suitability.

Supply chains, inventories and cash explains how delays reach operations. Commodity basis, logistics and freight differentials adds background on how location changes delivered cost. Neither is an airport fare calculator. They help a business match its deadline to a real quote and identify which stage’s waiting time a transport change could reduce.

14

What an airline considers when choosing an airport

For an airline, a new airport is a place to change the combination of products sold to passengers. Attractive airport charges still leave questions about positioning aircraft and crews, fitting return sectors and arranging ground services. Creating a route requires an airline schedule as well as airport terms. An airport’s commercial initiative does not immediately become the next day’s flight count.

Airport competition can therefore appear in services as well as price. Facilities, processes and operational coordination may change the value of an identical charge to an airline. Passengers could benefit through terminal time or reliability. A user’s assessment of convenience and a measured change in airline cost are nevertheless different observations; one cannot supply a monetary estimate of the other.

Airport contracts may involve duration, covered flights and the scope of support or discounts. An announced agreement does not establish identical terms for all airlines. Just as travellers match ticket conditions, investors and businesses need the denominator of a charge and the services included. Comparing differently defined tariffs undermines the price comparison itself.

An additional negotiating counterpart could affect business options before entry occurs. Assess that possibility against the airlines and routes for which a switch is practical. Relocation costs and existing base arrangements may make a nominal alternative difficult to use immediately. Competitive pressure between airports deserves indicators separate from passenger growth or falling fares.

15

To measure fares, repeat a consistent shopping exercise

To examine whether fares fall after opening, hold the shopping exercise consistent: route, weekday, approximate departure time, booking lead time, baggage and flexibility. A launch promotion on one date and a last-minute purchase on another do not identify an airport effect. Decide in advance which conditions must stay fixed for the question being asked.

A minimum fare alone can miss limited availability or an unsuitable departure time. An alternative is to list services arriving before the required deadline and retain the cheapest suitable product. Sold-out inventory is unavailable, not a zero price. A return traveller also needs the homeward leg; a cheap outward offer may not complete the itinerary.

School holidays, public holidays, events, fuel and exchange rates can all affect prices. A simple before-and-after average may attribute those changes to the airport. More routes or periods still cannot make every condition identical. Record what changed together and retain the limitations rather than declaring causality from one number.

An individual booking does not require a national causal estimate. Compare two purchasable alternatives at the same time and decide which conditions fit. A market-monitoring sheet and a booking sheet have different purposes. Choosing the purpose before the fields prevents extensive record-keeping that does not advance the decision, and helps explain differences between a published average and a personal quote.

16

How a new service changes the wider network

Assess a new service with the journeys before and after it. A connection onto a separate ticket can involve different baggage collection and disruption responsibilities from a single booking. Using the same airport does not itself guarantee an inter-airline connection or through-checked bags. Check the scope stated in the sales conditions.

An airline network can use a flight to one city to support connections elsewhere. Someone able to fly direct and someone needing a connection may value the new departure point differently. Count complete itineraries to the destination rather than merely adding flights. Another international airline in a list does not create a usable combination if it does not connect with the domestic leg on the travel date.

Network changes reach passenger choice and airline economics differently. More morning options may help business travellers without every flight being full. Conversely, a small increase can create a valuable connection for a particular group. Examining which travel purpose becomes easier, alongside total flight counts, avoids overstating or understating the change.

17

The wider economic channel runs through easier journeys

The international significance lies less in predicting a global market-price move from one airport opening than in how metropolitan connections facilitate transactions and travel. Lower time or cost could make meetings, tourism and family visits easier to undertake. Benefits vary with destination, schedule, income and available transport; they do not amount to an identical saving for everyone.

Tourism spending also depends on overseas incomes, exchange rates, accommodation costs and length of stay. A traveller may spend a fare saving locally or reduce the overall holiday budget. Spending diverted from another destination can increase one region’s receipts while changing allocation over a wider area. Passenger numbers alone cannot estimate domestic value added; the location and composition of spending matter.

For financial analysis, separate the airport, airlines, ground transport, accommodation and land businesses. Revenue recipients, cost bearers and contractual margins differ. Connecting the three financial statements helps distinguish sales growth from cash collection. Moving from the opening to an investment valuation requires business-specific contracts and accounts; the itinerary example cannot value a share price.

18

Consider workers and people providing lifts

Airport users include workers and people providing lifts as well as passengers. Early or late shifts can require travel outside passenger flight times. Showing a window convenient for passengers does not establish a connection to the start or end of a shift. Workers need to apply outward and return services, day-of-week differences and transfer buffers to their own roster.

Recording these burdens does not negate the airport’s benefits. It identifies useful connections and the times at which another mode is needed as more people travel. For assessing public transport improvements, compare routes usable for shifts and lifts alongside passenger averages. That makes the practical change to daily life more concrete.

19

Screen out unusable journeys before ranking costs

Travellers needing assistance should confirm arrangements with the airline and transport provider rather than relying on a general journey time. Accessible vehicles and stops, assistance requiring advance booking, and the treatment of mobility equipment or bags form part of the itinerary. The burden of walking and transfers varies by person; the shortest route on a map may not be a workable one.

For travel with children or older relatives, keep transfers, tolerable waiting and rest needs separate from price. Rather than inventing detailed scores, sort conditions into essential, preferred and adjustable. If only one alternative meets the essentials, its price is considered as the cost of making the trip possible rather than the reason for choosing between equivalent offers. Where companions have different requirements, compare staying together with travelling separately and meeting later, allowing time for coordination and the meeting itself.

This sequence also distinguishes alternatives using the same airport. Test a morning and midday flight, or car and public transport, individually rather than passing or failing every itinerary under one airport name. Another airport can create value by enabling a previously difficult journey as well as adding a lower price. A sheet retaining workable routes can reveal that change.

20

Fill the itinerary sheet with your own evidence

Use airline purchase screens, date-specific ground timetables and, where needed, parking or car quotes. No names, booking references or payment details need to be sent to this article. The sheet is a reading aid to copy into a personal note or spreadsheet; it does not accept inputs, retrieve quotes, make bookings or store data. Put evidence captured at a consistent time beside two chosen itineraries.

Begin with origin, final destination, travel date, passenger count and required arrival time. Then record the airline brand and group, flight and arrival date. For overnight or international journeys, retaining the date alongside local time reduces the risk of applying Sunday services to a Monday connection. Include airport codes rather than relying on the city name Sydney to identify the airport.

Cost fields cover the ticket, required extras, every ground leg and additional accommodation if necessary. Time fields cover origin to destination, waiting and processing buffers, followed by essentials and a fallback. Finish with the quote check time and unresolved conditions. A blank field can then point to a specific document or provider to consult next.

After filling the sheet, identify the component that changed the choice: the fare gap, ground access or time valuation. That shows where to focus the next quotation check. Even without converting every field to money, the process can separate unusable alternatives from those needing another answer. It connects the personal question left by a short news summary to real purchasing conditions.

21

Counterargument: is closer and cheaper enough?

Someone living nearby, with a suitable flight and a lower total cost, may choose the new airport without an elaborate market study. Researching corporate groups might not change that booking decision. That is a reasonable objection: personal travel should not require unnecessary investigation. An alternative meeting essentials and winning on both cash and time has a clear rationale under those conditions.

Extending one successful itinerary into claims that the airport is closer for everyone, cheaper on every route or adds an independent competitor requires different evidence. Preserve the scope of the individual result. “Cheaper for me” and “reduced market-wide prices” concern different subjects and periods. Keeping those questions separate allows booking work to remain concise.

The opposite argument—that no immediate addition of an independent domestic group means no benefit—is also too strong. Different access distance or useful flight times can reduce a journey’s burden even with the same seller. Product range, location and ground transport can generate benefits separate from competition between corporate groups. No single indicator captures all of them.

A further objection is that spending more time to save cash can itself be rational. Imposing a high money value on time would undervalue the choice of someone prioritising a tight budget. Let the reader choose that value and always show cash separately. The sheet supports a personal choice within budget and schedule rather than forcing time and money into one universal ranking.

22

SG Group view: three observations that would change the assessment

SG Group assesses the opening through workable itineraries, independent sellers and the burden through completion of the trip. First, do more itineraries meet the required arrival time? A ground connection can create one as well as a flight. Demonstrating that change for the same origin and destination establishes a concrete benefit. An additional route name with an unsuitable connection leaves that traveller’s assessment unchanged.

Second, do independently owned airline groups offer more alternatives on the same route and date? Another brand alone can broaden products without changing the judgement about competition between groups. Entry by a separate group, with usable times and sales conditions, adds evidence for comparing fares and service. Retaining separate dates for an entry announcement, ticket sales and operation shows when the assessment changed.

Third, does the traveller’s total burden fall persistently? Improvement in comparable cash and time measures, with a usable fallback during disruption, would support the view that early convenience is becoming a routine alternative. Extras or ground costs that erase the fare advantage would justify a less favourable assessment for the same person. Show the field changing the ranking rather than fixing the conclusion in advance.

These observations do not produce one score for the whole airport. They retain whose itinerary is being assessed while tracking user benefits and competition alongside each other. Investors need business-specific accounts, firms need real travel or shipment quotes, and passengers need purchase terms. Matching evidence to the decision reduces both excessive expectations and undervaluation of the same opening.

23

Which evidence to check next

For the near term, consult airline sales and operating information for the travel date and Transport for NSW timetables. Moving beyond the speech’s scheduled 26 October international start requires evidence of actual operation. Schedules can change before a reader’s trip, so use date-specific purchase terms rather than treating the article’s chronology as a booking guarantee.

When ground transport changes, update essentials and fallback fields as well as access cost and time. Longer service hours could connect an arrival previously unusable. Works or a timetable change could remove a connection and reverse the ranking without changing the airfare. A one-line reason for the revision records which improvement actually helped.

For the market overall, examine sellers and operations by route, comparable fares, and passengers’ origins and destinations. Evidence over matching scopes would support a more concrete assessment of airport competition, airline competition and regional convenience. No date needs to be invented for material without a known publication schedule. Decide in advance which question a later figure could answer.