WHAT new flight routes does Bundaberg need?

That was the hot topic on Facebook this week after Bundaberg Regional Council said it would be conducting an online survey before it put forward a case to major airlines.

While flights to Sydney, Townsville and Cairns were at the forefront of most people's minds, some commentators also asked the questions: "Will Bundaberg ever see new flight paths? and "Are the yearly surveys a waste of time?".

"I've filled a survey in so many times to council and so have others that I know, why are they still asking and not taking action?" Lesley Hume wrote.

"Many of the councillors (perhaps regular travellers themselves) would know the issues here.

"Come on council and Qantas, stop talking and start acting"

Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey told the NewsMail today the council had been on the front foot in conducting its community destination survey to ascertain the travel requirements of residents in order to build a business case to present to airlines.

"While council is able to take proposals to commercial operators, ultimately extending or curtailing services remains a decision for those companies," Cr Dempsey said.

"Council has always argued that based on previous community surveys and some business case analysis, direct flights to both Sydney and Melbourne could be warranted. However we fully respect that the final decision will be made by the airlines."

Cr Dempsey said the council wanted to see the availability of travel options grow in tandem with the region.

"Route development is carefully considered by the airlines based on detailed analysis of passenger movements," he said.

It needs to be remembered that whatever destinations aircraft leaving Bundaberg fly into, there is also an expectation that passengers will travel back.

"This scenario provides an opportunity to target market visitor experiences in the Bundaberg Region to capture advantages from those returning flights."

Cr Dempsey said currently Qantaslink and Virgin Australia averaged around six flights in and six flights out of Bundaberg to Brisbane on a daily basis.

Cr Dempsey also said he council had been advised by Virgin that an overnight service was discontinued as the demand for the service was insufficient.

"Virgin further advised that they are continuously reviewing their flight schedules and network plan and will continue to monitor opportunities at Bundaberg," he said.

"The single greatest positive that affects airline operation in any location is the consistency of passenger numbers. Demand is obviously the key driver for the addition or reduction of services."

"Aircraft operators have a very transient product and are able to relocate airline services in a very short space of time so community support for services is of paramount importance."

To undertake the survey or find out more, visit http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au.