Smarter Flying Sees Qantas Back to Sunshine Coast

Qantas has announced the return of the Flying Kangaroo between the Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) and Sydney* as well as the launch of services between Melbourne and the Gold Coast* to give customers more premium travel options.

Qantas Domestic chief executive officer Andrew David said the network changes were part of the Qantas Group's twice yearly schedule update.

“These new services help us meet the growing demand for premium leisure services between Sydney and Maroochydore and Melbourne and the Gold Coast,” Mr David said.

“We will introduce a new daily Boeing 737 service between Melbourne and the Gold Coast starting on 25 October.

“We'll also start six services per week between Sydney and Maroochydore from 21 December with flying that will cater for leisure travellers over the summer holiday period, before a new schedule with more business-friendly times begins in February.

“The QantasLink flights between Sydney and Maroochydore will be operated by a two class Boeing 717, which offers Q-Streaming inflight entertainment in every seat via a passenger's personal electronic device and complimentary iPads for all passengers.”

Mr David said operating both Qantas and Jetstar to popular Queensland tourism destinations showed the Group's successful dual brand strategy in action.

“Offering both airlines on these routes means we can appeal to leisure travellers with Jetstar while Qantas caters for more premium leisure and business customers. Ultimately, it's about giving people more choice,” he said.

Last month, Qantas began operating flights between Melbourne and Hamilton Island, which allowed Jetstar to come off the route and add services between Melbourne and the Whitsunday Coast Airport (Proserpine).

An additional daily frequency between Sydney and the Gold Coast and more flying from Hobart will start in February next year.

The extra flying has been made possible by the introduction of an additional two leased Boeing 717 aircraft from early 2016 taking the total B717 fleet to 20. It is also offset by a reduction in intra-WA flying in response to a slowdown in the mining sector, and a shift to smaller aircraft on other routes in line with passenger demand.

Fleet flexibility for increased flying has been provided by reducing the turnaround times of the B737 domestic fleet.

“The new schedule includes a number of 35 minute turns for our fleet of B737s, which builds on the success of a program we started last year to reduce the amount of time our aircraft spend on the ground. It gives us more flexibility to take advantage of opportunities when we see them,” Mr David said.

Special fares for the launch of the Sydney – Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) route will be on sale from 1300 AEST Wednesday 22 July until 23.59 Tuesday 28 July, unless sold out prior, and start at $89 one way in economy.

Sale fares for Melbourne – Gold Coast will be on sale from 1300 AEST Wednesday 22 July until 23:59 Tuesday 28 July, unless sold out prior, and start at $99 one way in economy.

Price based on payment at qantas.com by BPAY. Selected travel dates, and conditions apply. Flights between Sydney and Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) are subject to government and regulatory approval.