Acting Premier Steven Miles said Emirates’ decision to increase services to Brisbane has been assisted by the $200 million Palaszczuk Government and industry partnership, Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF), which is helping to boost international visitors to Queensland.
“Emirates’ decision is another clear indicator that international travel is back on the global agenda and Queensland is very much in the sights of overseas visitors,” Mr Miles said.
“This is the 11th aviation deal our Government has announced as part of this fund.
“In addition to the current A380 servicing the route daily, Emirates will add a daily 777-300 service starting from June 2023.
“It’s estimated to bring in an additional 129,210 seats, including an estimated 38,610 visitors to the state and generate overnight visitor expenditure of $75 million a year.
“The extra service is also estimated to provide an additional 730 direct and indirect jobs for the state.
”The Boeing 777-300 aircraft is able to carry up to 354 passengers.
“And Emirates’ extensive worldwide network to over 130 destinations will ensure a high level of connectivity with the United Kingdom, Europe, Scandinavia, Arica and North America.
“Importantly for exporting Queensland agricultural produce, this service has the capacity to provide up to 22 tonnes of freight capacity to Dubai and beyond per flight,” he said.
Emirates Regional Sales Manager Dean Cleaver said the restoration of the additional flight to Brisbane was a significant moment.
“Our second daily service to Brisbane begins as we proudly celebrate 20 years of flying to the Sunshine State. Not only will this service cater to the demand of Australians looking to travel overseas, but also welcome more travellers and tourists to enjoy Queensland, Australia’s tourism mecca,” he said.
“The additional service combined with our daily A380 to Brisbane means Emirates will offer almost 12,000 seats to and from Brisbane every week. This is another important milestone in the resumption of our Australian capacity and reaffirms our longstanding commitment to flying down under. We look forward to welcoming more Australians on board to enjoy the Emirates experience.”
Brisbane Airport Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Gert Jan de Graff said: “This is a huge vote of confidence in the Brisbane and Queensland market. It effectively doubles overnight the Emirates capacity between the two cities, delivering more seats for major Middle East and European markets.
“In terms of rebuilding what was lost by covid, this is a significant brick in the wall.
“In October we will celebrate 20 years since Emirates began flying into Brisbane. Through the depths of the pandemic, the airline continued to provide a lifeline to repatriate Australians and enable crucial Queensland exports to continue.”
The AAIF is estimated to assist in the delivery of up to 5.3 million airline seats a year generating almost $4 billion in overnight visitor expenditure.
*Source: Tourism and Events Queensland
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