The reopening of the border between Queensland, Victoria (VIC), and Greater Sydney on December 1, 2020, will see Australian carriers add thousands of flights on the interstate routes in the run-up to Christmas.
Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International) said it experienced its single busiest day of sales since before COVID-19 on November 24 on the back of the announcement, with more than 60% of flights booked being for travel up to and during Christmas. Flight searches for routes between New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland had more than doubled. The top five routes (both ways) were: Brisbane International-Sydney Kingsford Smith; Gold Coast Coolangatta-Sydney; Melbourne Tullamarine-Gold Coast; Brisbane-Melbourne; and Sunshine Coast and Melbourne.
Resuming flights between the states for the first time since March 2020, Virgin from December 1 would increasingly add more than 38,000 seats between VIC and Queensland by Christmas, the airline announced. Flights between Melbourne and Brisbane would operate 2x daily from December 1, increasing to 5x daily by Christmas. Services between Melbourne and popular leisure destinations on the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast would resume 2x weekly from December 1, upping to twice daily by Christmas. The airline would also fly 5x weekly between Melbourne and Cairns from December 14, increasing to daily services by Christmas.
From Sydney Kingsford Smith starting on December 1, Virgin would operate 3x daily to Brisbane, increasing to 7x daily by Christmas; as well as daily flights increasing to 3x daily to the Gold Coast; 5x weekly services increasing to daily to the Sunshine Coast; and 4x weekly rotations upping to daily to Cairns. From December 8, the carrier was adding 4x weekly flights between Sydney-Hamilton Island, adding daily services from December 21. Sydney-Proserpine services would run 3x weekly from December 17. Brisbane-Newcastle Williamtown flights would operate 9x weekly from December 1, increasing to 2x daily by Christmas.
Meanwhile, Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) and its subsidiary Jetstar Airways (JQ, Melbourne Tullamarine) announced plans to operate 1,200 additional frequencies between VIC, New South Wales (NSW), and Queensland in the lead up to Christmas. The airlines would operate more than 250 weekly services across seven routes from Sydney, an increase of 36 weekly services. Qantas and Jetstar also planned to operate more than 160 weekly services from Melbourne from December 1, while Jetstar would operate 4x weekly services from Melbourne Avalon to the Gold Coast from January.
For the first time in three years, Qantas would resume operations between Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast with a daily direct seasonal service between December 17 and January 31, 2021, using a two-class B717-200, thereby adding 1,500 seats per week on the route. The direct service would generate an estimated AUD2.6 million Australian dollars (USD1.9 million) in visitor overnight spending.
Qantas also announced it would restart 5x weekly flights from Sydney to Maroochydore on December 1, increasing to daily flights from December 18. In addition, Jetstar would recommence services to the Sunshine Coast operating up to 44 flights a week from Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide International. Qantas last week launched a new route between the Sunshine Coast and Canberra, operating 3x per week, the first Qantas services on the route since March. The airline expected to operate at 60% of pre-COVID-19 domestic capacity by the Christmas peak.
Link Airways (FC, Canberra) also resumed 3x weekly flights between Sydney and Brisbane on November 24, the ch-aviation schedules module reveals.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state’s AUD15 million (USD11 million) Aviation Recovery Fund would support direct flights between Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast ahead of the Festive Season. The fund so far had supported the resumption of 18 services, she said, generating more than AUD66.1 million (USD48.6 million) in visitor overnight spending for regional Queensland economies, and supporting 536 jobs.
