Qantas today announced it would add more than 1,700 seats per week on services between Melbourne and Tasmania from 29 October 2012*.
Announcing the capacity in Hobart today, along with Tasmania?s Premier Lara Giddings and Minister for Tourism, Scott Bacon, Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer Lyell Strambi said the additional capacity would provide greater convenience and more options for customers.
?Alongside the twice daily Boeing 737 services operating between Melbourne and Hobart, we are looking forward to increasing frequency on the route with the introduction of our Q400 aircraft,? said Mr Strambi.
?From October, we will increase services between Melbourne and Hobart from twice daily to three times per day, providing our customers with seamless connections to and from Hobart.
?In the next few months Hobart, Launceston and Devonport will all benefit from additional and upgraded services to and from Melbourne, operated by QantasLink Q400 aircraft.
?The Qantas Group, including Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, currently operates more than 170 return services per week to ports across Tasmania.?
In May, Jetstar announced an increase of 28 return services per week to Hobart and Launceston resulting in an extra 10,000 seats per week to Tasmania.
Tasmania?s Premier, Lara Giddings said the 18 additional services a week was a significant boost in air seats into and out of Tasmania and is welcome news for all of Tasmania.
?That is fantastic news for Tasmania?s tourist operators, for hoteliers and for local businesses,? she said.
?Today?s announcement from Qantas represents a significant investment in its Tasmanian services, and also reflects the growing confidence airlines have in Tasmania as a destination.
Tasmania?s Minister for Tourism, Scott Bacon said the Qantas Group continued to be a key airline partner for Tasmania.
?This is a significant announcement that will not only deliver extra flights into our capital city, but will also see a significant increase in the level of access available to regional areas through an upgrade to the aircraft flying between Melbourne and Devonport, and additional flights between Melbourne and Launceston.?
Details of the additional services (from 29 October)*:
– Melbourne to Hobart Additional 1036 seats per week. Twice daily services to increase to three services per day, representing an increase of 14 to 21 return services per week and 50% growth in frequency.
– Melbourne to Launceston Additional 694 seats per week. Weekly return services will increase from 17 to 28 per week representing a 65% growth in frequency on the route.
– Melbourne to Devonport Two weekly return services will be upgraded from a Q300 aircraft to a Q400 aircraft.
Qantas has also made adjustments to the operating times of its daily Boeing 737 service between Hobart and Sydney.
– QF1020 from Hobart to Sydney has moved from a 10:40am departure to an 11:55am departure, arriving in Sydney at 1:40pm local time.
– QF1019 from Sydney to Hobart has moved from a 2:15pm departure to a 9:25am departure, arriving in Hobart at 11:15am local time.
Mr Strambi said that the adjustments, increased frequency and capacity growth will provide greater convenience for customers travelling between Tasmania and the mainland.
?These changes will have significant appeal to both business and leisure travellers and will provide access to a wider range of connections across the domestic and international network,? Mr Strambi said.
?Tasmania is a very important market for Qantas and we will continue to monitor customer feedback to support travel within the region.?
*Subject to regulatory approval