Wellcamp plans: direct to Cairns, Adelaide, Melbourne

THE Qantas deal to operate Sydney services out of Toowoomba’s new airport appears likely to be quickly expanded to other key domestic destinations.

(from left) Wagners director Denis Wagner, Clayton Cooke of APN, Victor Corones of Magna Global and APN editorial director Bryce Johns. . Picture: David Nielsen

THE Qantas deal to operate Sydney services out of Toowoomba's new airport appears likely to be quickly expanded to other key domestic destinations.

Speaking at a glitzy function in Sydney, Wagners managing director Denis Wagner told a media crowd of 140 that Melbourne, Adelaide and Cairns would almost certainly be serviced directly from the Wellcamp airport by Qantas, and another couple of cities were likely as well.

Wellcamp and Qantas were well advanced in their talks, he said.

The Sydney deal was announced this week when Premier Campbell Newman touched down at Toowoomba to break the news.

Mr Wagner was speaking at an Australian Regional Media-organised Queensland Economic focus night. ARM is the owner of the The Chronicle.

ARM Queensland economic focus night

VIEW GALLERY

The 11 confirmed Sydney services a week, plus the other routes Mr Wagner pointed to, might not be Qantas' only link to Wellcamp.

The Wagner family are also hoping the airline will shift some of its massive, and lucrative, maintenance operation to the industrial park that surrounds the airport.

Quizzed on rumours Qantas was looking at that option, Mr Wagner smiled and said: "We certainly hope so."

The 2000ha of land around the 3000ha airport is being developed as an industrial park.

"Airports are hubs. There will be a lot of commercial business conducted in and around the airport."

Mr Wagner said getting Qantas to commit to the airport was a matter of convincing them there was a market in the Toowoomba region.

"Toowoomba is the eleventh biggest catchment area in Australia. On top of that, we had over 1.8 million people visit Toowoomba in 2013 and all of them had to drive in.

"Currently around 13,000 passengers fly into Toowoomba. That could be 1.5 million passengers a year in the next 12 to 18 months.

"Qantas will provide 11 services a week on a Q400, over 40,000 seats per annum."

Mr Wagner was just one of two speakers discussing the amount of money being invested in Queensland projects and infrastructure at the economic focus night at the Quay, Sydney.

Wagners director Denis Wagner (left) with fellow guest speakers Victor Corones of Magna Global and Bryce Johns APN editorial director Photo David Nielsen / Queensland Times. Picture: David Nielsen

Magna Global managing director Victor Corones, a former Gladstone resident who now controls the advertising spending of many big companies, said the boom times in regional Queensland was not recognized well enough out of the state.

He said state government infrastructure spending, at $5.5 billion in regional Queensland in the latest budget, was more than was being spent in Brisbane. With 75% of the state's population outside Brisbane, he told the crowd big companies needed to realize how powerful the regional market was.

He was also a proponent of regional media, saying titles like The Chronicle were recording better circulation results than the metropolitan rivals because of a deeper community connection.

Originally published as Wellcamp plans: direct to Cairns, Adelaide, Melbourne