Qantas has confirmed it will resume daily services from the Gold Coast to meet growing demand for premium leisure and business travel in the region. From late October, the Australian flag carrier will commence a three times daily services between the Gold Coast and Sydney using a Boeing 737-800.
The oneworld alliance member’s Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said Qantas was focused on delivering the best network, frequency and service in every part of the market. "Our customers have told us that they want a premium leisure and business service, complementing Jetstar’s existing services as part of our two-brand strategy, and we are responding to that demand.”
"Qantas and all of our people are very excited to return to the Gold Coast and relaunch services between Sydney and the Gold Coast. With the massive development of south-east Queensland, the Gold Coast is Australia's sixth-largest city and a fast-growing premium travel market,” he added.
The Australian carrier last flew the Sydney – Gold Coast route in July 2008 and historically also served the Brisbane and Melbourne markets from Gold Coast. The Sydney – Gold Coast route is also flown by Qantas low-cost partner Jetstar Airways, while Virgin Australia and Tiger Airways Australia also provide flight options between the two cities.
Qantas started operations in Queensland 92 years ago and the airline’s connection with the state had never been stronger. "The Qantas Group employs more than 5000 people in Queensland, our primary maintenance base is here, we will soon be opening a new catering facility in Brisbane and we are rapidly expanding our regional services throughout Queensland," said Alan Joyce.
In 2007, when Qantas last served the Sydney – Gold Coast route for the full year, it had just an eight per cent share of the O&D market as its low-cost rival Virgin Blue (now Virgin Australia) and its own sister venture Jetstar Airways had become the dominant carriers. Its yield was much stronger than its budget rivals though with average fares double what they were offering and this would certainly support a strategy of providing a higher-end product to support the Jetstar offering. Last year, an estimated 1.98 million passengers flew on the route with estimated one-way fares of $94. When Qantas inaugurates its flights on October 28, 2012 it will boost overall capacity on the route by 10.9 per cent, holding a 9.8 per cent share of the available seats.
(by Declan Maguire, Editorial Assistant)
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