Alice Springs residents to receive discounts on Qantas flights to Darwin

QANTAS will offer discounted fares for Alice Springs residents flying to Darwin in an effort to provide more affordable air travel

A QantasLink Boeing 717 on the tarmac at Alice Springs Airport destined for Darwin. The flight services will be upgraded from 717 to 737 aircraft

QANTAS will offer discounted fares for Alice Springs residents flying to Darwin.

The announcement was part of Tuesday’s changes to Qantas flights to the Territory, which included a new Darwin-Uluru Qantas route from April next year.

Alice Springs residents can get discounts of at least 20 per cent and up to 30 per cent off any flight to Darwin.

Each resident can use the discount on up to 12 return fares for personal travel to Darwin each year.

Qantas said the discounted fares program had been successfully trialled in selected regional cities in Queensland and Western Australia where residents were competing with a very high volume of corporate travel, specifically from the resources industry.

READ MORE: MAJOR QANTAS CHANGES ON NT ROUTES

Qantas said Alice Springs was added to the program as residents were affected by the city’s remoteness and limited travel options.

As has been the case in Queensland and Western Australia, the discounted fares apply on flights to the closest capital city or major town – for Alice Springs this is Darwin – and not for other interstate flights.

Eligible Alice Springs residents can book discounted fares from today at qantas.com/residentfares.

Chamber of Commerce NT chief executive Greg Bicknell said he expected the decision to replace the QantasLink planes would have some impacts on the service industry.

“We understand that they will not require some of the maintenance services and some workers will leave with the repositioning of the jets,” he said.

“However, we now have an added bonus to NT tourism with the direct flights to Uluru from Darwin. Visitors can visit Kakadu and then travel on to Uluru.”

The NT Government has welcomed the new Darwin-Uluru Qantas route, as well as discounted fares for Alice Springs residents.

Tourism Minister Lauren Moss said research by her department this year showed 68 per cent of travellers from Asia would consider taking a direct flight between Darwin and Uluru.

“Almost 50 per cent of interstate and international visitors to Uluru spend at least one night in Alice Springs, so more flights into Uluru is good news for the whole of Central Australia,” she said