Seven more weekly flights to Sydney as Jetstar eyes Avalon growth
A change to flights at Avalon Airport could see thousands of extra passengers arrive each week later this year.
Geelong
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Seven more flights per week between Avalon Airport and Sydney will take off by September as demand at Victoria’s second largest airport grows.
Jetstar Airways chief operating officer Matt Franzi told the Geelong Advertiser the airline would add to its current schedule of 32 services per week between Avalon, and Sydney and the Gold Coast.
“That ultimately is (up to) 2600 customers a week having extra capacity into the Geelong region,” Mr Franzi said from the cabin of Jetstar’s recently delivered A321 Neo, parked at the Avalon Airshow’s trade exhibition.
“The demand is strong, customers are really wanting that flexibility between Tullamarine and Avalon; so putting these extra services on, it makes sense.”
The A321 Neo, a 232-seat, single-aisle aircraft, is the latest offering from Airbus and will allow Jetstar to fly the same aircraft on international and domestic routes on the same day.
Jetstar is about to take delivery of its fifth Neo aircraft, which will add 1200 kms to the range of its predecessor, and will add one Neo to its fleet every six weeks this year.
The Neo will give Jetstar capability to fly between Avalon and Bali using less fuel compared to other aircraft in its fleet.
Asked why Jetstar wasn’t flying between Avalon and Bali, Mr Franzi said: “We constantly assess the market for Avalon or Tullamarine, at the moment our primary operation for international is Tullamarine. We’ve still got growth opportunity at Tullamarine. So while there’s no immediate plans to do Avalon to Denpasar, we’re always looking.”
As Jetstar looks to transport 10 million people on domestic routes for under $100 each before Christmas, Mr Franzi said it would explore opportunities for growth at Avalon.
“We’re always exploring growth at Avalon. It’s been such a key part of our business for so long,” he said.
“In terms of the general customers we get really positive feedback. It’s a very easy experience from Avalon. You’re straight (into) the terminal, straight and on your way to Sydney or Gold Coast.”
Mr Franzi said Jetstar had no immediate plans for flights between Avalon and New Zealand.
Avalon’s airport’s catchment includes 1.58m people within a 45-minute drive and 3.2m people within an hour’s drive.
Mr Franzi said: “At the moment we believe we’ve got the right balance (at Avalon) but that being said, we are seeing growth and hence why the additional services into Sydney. We wouldn’t do that unless we saw customer demand or growth (opportunity). We’re committed to being at Avalon for the long haul.”
He said Jetstar would seek another long-term agreement with Avalon when its current 10-year deal expires in 2025.
The Avalon Airshow opens to the public on Friday.
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Originally published as Seven more weekly flights to Sydney as Jetstar eyes Avalon growth
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