NSW and Victoria left out of Virgin flight schedule boost

Virgin has begun ramping up its flying schedule in anticipation of growing travel demand everywhere but NSW and Victoria.

Virgin Australia has added four routes, amid expectations of strong demand, but bypassed NSW and Victoria. Picture: Brendan Radke

Virgin Australia has added four routes that leapfrog NSW and Victoria, in anticipation of demand for travel anywhere but those states.

From December, the Brisbane-based airline will begin new seasonal services between Launceston and the Gold Coast and Hobart and the Gold Coast, as well as a new Cairns-Gold Coast run.

Virgin will also resume its Adelaide-Sunshine Coast flights that were “paused” when borders closed in April.

Chief strategy and transformation officer Alistair Hartley said the services had been added in recognition of the growing demand and increasing confidence to travel.

“The new direct services will allow for over 19,000 extra passengers each month to connect with loved ones and visit the destinations they’ve been dreaming about this summer,” Mr Hartley said.

“Virgin Australia is proud to be the first airline to connect Launceston and the Gold Coast in two decades. From December up to 4224 passengers a month can fly non-stop between the two destinations.”

Fares on the routes were being made available from Tuesday, with a selected number of seats available for $79 one way until midnight on Friday, unless sold out beforehand.

Mr Hartley said the Gold Coast and Tasmania both stood to reap considerable gains from the flights, providing an “early Christmas present to hundreds of tourism operators and local businesses”.

“Never before has Virgin Australia operated to this many mainland ports from the Apple Isle,” he said.

“Since September, we have announced six new routes to Tasmania, providing a significant boost to local tourism and over 28,000 additional seats each month.”

The flights coincided with a major tourism promotion by the Tasmanian Government, offering $300 vouchers to residents of Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia who book trips to the island state over the next two months.

Gold Coast tourism officials also welcomed the new services in the lead-up to the all-important Christmas holiday period.

Destination Gold Coast chief executive Patricia O’Callaghan said the increased connectivity to the region would inject around $43 million into the local economy.

“That will be very welcomed after a challenging 18-months for our tourism industry,” said Ms O’Callaghan.

Queensland Airports Limited chief executive Chris Mills said it was great to see options increasing for visitors wanting to come to the Gold Coast.

“When the Gold Coast-Launceston flights start in early December it will be the first time a scheduled service has operated on this route in more than 20-years, creating another new market for the Gold Coast,” Mr Mills said.

“Extra capacity on the already popular Gold Coast-Hobart and Gold Coast-Cairns routes is also extremely welcome.”

The Gold Coast-Cairns flights would operate daily from December 9; flights between the Gold Coast and Launceston were scheduled for three times a week from December 7 and four flights a week were planned for Hobart-Gold Coast from December 13.

Four return flights between Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast would resume from December 14.

Borders are currently open between Qld, SA, Tasmania and the Northern Territory but some restrictions still apply in WA.

Although there is an expectation NSW and Victoria may reopen to each other soon, other states are likely to wait until their own vaccination rates increase further.

Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron has written to Victorian Health officials requesting a reopening of the air border between the ACT and Victoria by October 29.

The national capital was expected to reach 80 per cent of the population fully vaccinated in the next week.