Qantas and Jetstar to launch flights to Vanuatu as creditors weigh Air Vanuatu future

Qantas and budget offshoot Jetstar will launch flights to Vanuatu from two Australian cities in the coming months as creditors weigh the future of the grounded Air Vanuatu.

Qantas and Jetstar will launch up to nine flights between Australia and Vanuatu from September. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Qantas and Jetstar will launch up to nine return flights each week between Australia and Vanuatu as the two airlines look to fill the void left by the collapse of Air Vanuatu last month.

The entrance from both the premium and budget carriers will add more than 150,000 seats each year between Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, and Australia.

Starting from September 10, Qantas will fly three times a week between Brisbane and Port Vila using its Boeing 737-800 workhouse, with the ability to scale services up to five per week depending on demand.

Jetstar will offer up to four weekly flights from Sydney to Port Vila from December 12 using its growing fleet of Airbus A321neo LRs.

Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said the fresh capacity would meet growing demand for travel between the two countries while offering more choice and consistent service to the island destination, having served Vanuatu through a codeshare partnership with Air Vanuatu.

“We’re thrilled to offer our customers direct flights between Brisbane and Vanuatu and build on this important route which will maintain essential connectivity for leisure and business travel,” he said.

Qantas says there is growing demand for travel to the pacific country.

“This new route ensures our customers have more choice and consistent service to the island destination we know they enjoy.”

Virgin Australia is the only airline flying to Vanuatu from Australia currently since Air Vanuatu entered into voluntary administration. At the request of the federal government in May, it increased flights from two to five times a week. It has applied to fly an additional seven services per week between Australia and Vanuatu using its 737 fleet.

Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said Jetstar was looking to expand its international network further with launch of flights to Vanuatu and as its fleet expands with the arrival of its 13th A321neo LR next month.

“We’re excited to be able to offer more Australians great value holiday options to one of our nearest and most beautiful pacific island destinations,” she said.

Air Vanuatu has been grounded since it entered into voluntary administration last month. Picture: Media Mode/news.com.au

Tickets for both the Qantas and Jetstar services will go on sale this Thursday.

Both airlines have added a flurry of new international routes this year with Qantas due to start flights to Paris from Perth in a fortnight, as well as further flights to Singapore and Manilla, while Jetstar will launch flights to New Zealand from Cairns and the Sunshine Coast.

Appointed creditors of Air Vanuatu, EY Australia, confirmed that it received expressions of interest for a takeover or to purchase a number of the airline’s assets. A creditor’s report last month revealed the airline owed almost $110m and has $11m in assets.

They noted that the airline had a fleet of six aircraft, only two of which were flight ready, both of them turboprops.

Another three required maintenance, and Air Vanuatu’s sole Boeing 737, which the airline had claimed was undergoing maintenance, had been repossessed. The narrow body jet has been parked at Melbourne Jet Base since January.

Meanwhile, Solomon Airlines has announced that it will increase flights to Vanuatu with a direct service on Thursdays between Brisbane and Espiritu Santo from July 4, while it will fly Brisbane to Port Vila via its hub in Honiara.