Qantas doubles Melbourne-Gold Coast flights ahead of Christmas travel

Santa has a gift for the Gold Coast this year – new daily flights around the country. We’ve got the full rundown of what’s on the new schedule.

SANTA has a gift for the Gold Coast this year – new Qantas flights to Melbourne.

From 28 March 2021, Melbourne-Gold Coast weekly flights will double – from daily to twice daily – with the new schedule to cater for both corporate and leisure travellers.

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Qantas Captain Steve Anderson from Hope Island as santa.

For Gold Coast-based Qantas Captain Steve Anderson, the news of more domestic work adds to the Christmas cheer.

Every year, the Hope Island resident dresses up in a full Santa costume and operates the entire flight as “Santa” including the walk around visual inspection – despite the Queensland humidity – in the cockpit for his entire shift.

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Qantas Captain Steve Anderson.

He has been with Qantas for 42 years and for more than half of that time, has flown as Santa because he just loves to see the smiles on the faces of both the kids and the adults.

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“It is the smiles, the children love to see it, so do the parents, but the kids, it means something to them, and I get a big kick out of that,” Capt Anderson said.