• First flights from Wellington and Sydney to Queenstown almost sold-out
• Growing New Zealand tourism through competition and low fares
• Jetstar’s on time performance for Queenstown 88 per cent

Hundreds of friends, family members and holidaymakers arrived in Queenstown today on Jetstar’s inaugural flights from Wellington and Sydney, just in time for Christmas and New Year.

All but a handful of the 180 seats on flight JQ293 from Wellington were filled, with the A320 aircraft touching down in Queenstown mid-morning.

Meanwhile, more than 170 passengers winged their way across the Tasman from Sydney on flight JQ223 to arrive in Queenstown mid-afternoon.

Jetstar Australia & NZ CEO, David Hall, joined Queenstown Airport CEO, Steve Sanderson, and Destination Queenstown CEO, Tony Everitt, in welcoming passengers.

“We’re pleased to be bringing friends and families together for Christmas, and more visitors to Queenstown,” Mr Hall said.

“In addition to our new Sydney and Wellington flights, we’ve introduced an extra weekly Melbourne service and two extra weekly flights to Auckland.

“In total, these services have the potential to bring 180,000 additional travellers into the region each year,” said Mr Hall said.

“Our low fares, which are at least 30 per cent lower than our competitor’s, mean travellers have more money to spend once they arrive.”

Mr Sanderson said: “Today’s inaugural flights represent another significant inbound tourism injection for Queenstown. Since launching services just over two years ago, Jetstar has flown more than half a million passengers into Queenstown. It’s great that Jetstar continues to increase its commitment to the region.”

Jetstar operates 30 weekly return services to Queenstown, equating to more than 560,000 seats per annum. On time performance of Jetstar flights into Queenstown is currently around 88 per cent, with satellite-based technology significantly reducing weather-related delays.

The airline’s international and domestic passenger numbers to-and-from Queenstown soared almost 25 per cent to 238,000 in the year ended June 30, 2011.

Jetstar’s Wellington-Queenstown schedule from 23 December 2011

Departure / Arrival Times shown

• Wellington-Queenstown - JQ293 09.05 – 10.30 Daily
• Queenstown-Wellington - JQ294 11.00– 12.25 Daily

Jetstar’s Sydney-Queenstown schedule from 23 December 2011

Departure / Arrival Times shown

• Sydney-Queenstown - JQ223 09.50 – 14.45 Monday, Friday
• Queenstown-Sydney - JQ224 09.50 – 11.00 Monday, Friday