STANLEY’S BAY AIR COPS BRUNT OF COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS WITH 95% BUSINESS LOSS
Few businesses have been as badly hit by recent Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns as Bay Air.
Bay Air is the small passenger van service that is island owned and operated by Stanley Lewis of Macleay Island.
Stanley has a fleet of small buses that provides island connections to the air and sea services in Brisbane.
He keeps a team of drivers employed, connecting to most Brisbane flights and cruise ships.
It has been a vital cog in the domestic transport system, particularly for travelling islanders and Redlanders.
But not so much recently, in these most strange and difficult times.
Whilst some businesses have lost some percentage of their businesses, many island businesses have actually performed very well during this time; mainly because islanders ‘got busy’ around the home when restricted to our islands.
However,the biggest impact has been to the airline and cruise ship travel industries.
And with cruise ships playing a role in the spread of the Coronavirus, and overseas airline travel expected to be off limits for many months to come, Bay Air has been severely impacted.
“We have lost 95% of our business,” Stanley told the Friendly Bay Islander.
“We serve both sectors of the travel and tourism industry that have been impacted the most.”
The only small saving grace has been some small transport services operated by Bay Air to the airline industry, where they collect and drop-off crews from several airlines to and from Brisbane airport, for the small amount of flights that were still allowable.
Stanley is relieved that the Queensland borders have reopened and that domestic travel in Australia is starting to return.
The future of the cruise industry is still a little clouded, but some marketing has already begun in this sector.
“It has been tough and I hope islanders and people in the Redlands take advantage of some of the great domestic travel options that are now being announced.
“And we will happily take them to their connecting flights,” Stanley Lewis said.
If you want to make a Bai Air booking, give Stanley a call on 0422 691 971.
• Stanley Lewis and his fleet of Bay Air vehicles.