TRAVEL TAKES FLIGHT

Qantas restores more capacity

QANTAS and Jetstar will increase flights from Townsville to Brisbane as travel restrictions ease in Queensland.

Seven more flights will be added to the route, with more flights also listed between Mackay, Cairns and Townsville.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the carrier understood there was pent-up demand for air travel and there had already been an increase in customers booking and planning flights for the weeks and months ahead.

Qantas and Jetstar hope to reach 15 per cent pre-coronavirus flight levels by the end of June with the company gradually adding flights as demand increases.

IT will be easier to fly from Brisbane to Townsville this month with Qantas increasing the number of flights.

As restrictions ease across the state, the airline has announced its two carriers, Qantas and Jetstar, will allow capacity to increase from 5 per cent of pre-coronavirus levels to 15 per cent by the end of June.

In Townsville, this will mean an additional seven flights to and from the state’s capital.

Qantas will now fly from Brisbane to Townsville six times a week. It did not operate at all during the pandemic.

Jetstar, which was operating two flights on the route, will increase to three flights.

Flights between Mackay and Townsville will increase from three to five, and Cairns to Townsville from six to eight times a week.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the carrier understood there was pent-up demand for air travel, and there had already been an increase in customers booking and planning flights for the weeks and months ahead.

“We are gradually adding flights in June as demand levels increase, which will go from 5 per cent of pre-crisis levels currently to 15 per cent by late June,” he said.

“We can quickly ramp up flying in time for the July school holidays if border restrictions have eased more by then.”

Townsville Airport chief operating officer Kevin Gill said this was encouraging because connectivity with Brisbane was key for Townsville and North Queensland.

“Opening up Queensland to intrastate travel is a positive step forward,” Mr Gill said.

“But even with these extra services, flights will only reach levels of up to 25 per cent of the capacity we recorded in June last year.

“Reopening the Queensland border will be the key driver of increased activity, enabling the airlines to add more capacity and further support Queensland tourism.”