Gold rush comes to Avalon with new daily flights
Jetstar has responded to community calls for flights to South East Queensland by announcing it will begin daily return services between Avalon and the Gold Coast from 26 October 2015.
The launch of the Avalon-Gold Coast service is the first of two new routes Jetstar will operate as part of its 10-year agreement with the Victorian Government and airport owners Linfox Group.
Jetstar Australia and New Zealand CEO David Hall said the low fares airline was pleased to grow its Avalon network.
“We’re delighted to be offering more travel choices from Avalon in partnership with the Victorian Government and Linfox,” Mr Hall said.
“The Gold Coast is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Australia and we expect these direct flights will appeal to Western Victorian travellers looking for a relaxing getaway.
With year-round sunshine, fun theme parks and a thriving food scene, we know the Gold Coast is a real family favourite and we’ve made sure these flights are scheduled at family-friendly times.
“With year-round sunshine, fun theme parks and a thriving food scene, we know the Gold Coast is a real family favourite and we’ve made sure these flights are scheduled at family-friendly times.”
Jetstar’s outbound services will depart Avalon at 10am and return flights from the Gold Coast will land back in Avalon at 2:45pm.
Mr Hall added that these new flights would provide greater inbound tourism numbers with the addition of 65,000 extra seats a year coming into Avalon Airport.
“The Gold Coast Airport serves a population of more than 500,000 people and we’ll work closely with local and state tourism bodies to promote the greater Geelong region in the South East Queensland market,” Mr Hall said.
“We have a huge opportunity to grow local tourism with this 10-year partnership and it’s important we showcase Avalon as the gateway to amazing attractions along the western coast of Victoria.”
The Avalon-Gold Coast flights build upon Jetstar’s five times daily return service between Avalon and Sydney. With the introduction of the new service, Jetstar will offer more than 780,000 seats a year in and out of Avalon.
As part of a domestic network revamp, Jetstar will suspend its four times weekly service between the Gold Coast and Mackay.
The Jetstar Group is one of Asia Pacific’s fastest growing airline brands with one of the most extensive ranges of destinations in the region. It is made up of Jetstar Airways (subsidiary of the Qantas Group) in Australia and New Zealand, Jetstar Asia in Singapore, Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam, and Jetstar Japan in Japan. Jetstar branded carriers operate up to 5,000 flights a week to more than 85 destinations. The Jetstar Group carried more than 37 million passengers in financial year 2017.