Prosper Australia

The power of monopoly rights was recently exposed with the growth in parking revenue at Melbourne Airport. Australian Pacific Airports Corporation is the owner of Melbourne Airport, a group controlled by a number of Australian infrastructure funds. It was reported in this Herald Sun article that Australian Pacific Airports Corporation derives 18.3% revenue from parking, versus only 8.3% by the Macquarie Infrastructure owned Sydney Airport.

Passengers at Australia’s 5 airports have grown by 41% since 2002, but parking revenue has grown by 77%. Short stays cost $10 versus $4 in Adelaide.

Monopoly rents are extorted by the lack of alternatives patrons of the airport face. A Prosper Australia member was both embarrassed and outraged when a plane was late for arrival, sending the parking fee from $10 to $20. Such an exorbitant price gouge emptied his pockets and left him a little embarrassed with the ‘just met’ father-in-law unimpressed at the unexpected scrounging for coin.
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