Jetstar has responded to strong demand for travel to Queensland by announcing increased domestic seat capacity to Brisbane, Cairns, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast from November 2015 to March 2016.
The low fares airline will offer almost 300,000 extra domestic seats in and out of Queensland compared with the previous seasonal flying in that period.
Jetstar Australia and New Zealand Head of Commercial Nigel Fanning encouraged Queensland tourism and hospitality operators to gear up for a busy summer with demand on the rise.
“We’re seeing increasing bookings to popular Queensland holiday spots as the changing value of the Australian dollar makes domestic travel more appealing for some of our customers,” Mr Fanning said. “With the largest low fares fleet in Australia, we have a unique ability to meet this increasing demand for leisure travel. These extra flights are not only great news for tourism and hospitality operators up north, they will also provide more opportunities for our Queensland customers to get away and explore Sydney and Melbourne with our low fares this summer.”
Much of the extra Queensland flying originates in Melbourne, where growth is set to thrive as Jetstar moves to become the lead tenant in Melbourne Airport’s Terminal 4 from 10 November 2015.
Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones said it was great news for Queensland tourism and a real vote of confidence for the industry. “Our Great Barrier Reef and beautiful beaches are some of the world’s most iconic tourist destinations and now they’ll be even more accessible with Jetstar’s additional flights”, Ms Jones said. “More southerners will now be able to enjoy a Queensland summer holiday so our tourism operators should get ready for a busy season.”
The move to boost domestic flying to Queensland comes as Jetstar finalises preparations to launch its first direct link between the sunshine state and China next week. Jetstar’s inaugural Wuhan-Gold Coast service is set to land at Coolangatta Airport next Wednesday 30 September with more than 300 Chinese visitors on-board. These twice-weekly Boeing 787 Dreamliner services are being delivered in partnership with the Wanda Group, Queensland and Wuhan governments, Gold Coast Tourism, Gold Coast Airport and Jetstar.
“These new flights from Wuhan will be a boon for local tourism with some 70,000 seats a year on offer between the Gold Coast and one of China’s fastest growing cities,” Mr Fanning added. “With a population of more than 10 million, Wuhan is the largest city in central China and it’s a great sign for the Gold Coast that we’re off to such a strong start with flight bookings.”
The Dalian Wanda Group is one of the world’s largest owners of commercial property, and the world’s second largest luxury hotel manager. It is leading the development of the one billion dollar Jewel towers project in the Gold Coast.