Qantas ramps up flights as trans-Tasman bubble begins
Qantas and low cost brand Jetstar have resumed regular international flights between Australia and New Zealand with the opening of the two-way trans-Tasman bubble.
Flights are resuming to all pre-Covid destinations in New Zealand across 15 routes and Qantas has launched a new route between the Gold Coast and Auckland, which is the airline’s first ever international flights from Gold Coast Airport.
The airlines will operate around 200 flights each week across the Tasman.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the opening of the two-way travel bubble was a significant milestone for both countries.
"Quarantine-free travel has been almost 400 days in the making. Reopening these flights across the Tasman is very important in the recovery from the pandemic for Australia and New Zealand but also aviation and tourism," Joyce said.
"The opening of the two-way bubble is fantastic for family and friends who are reuniting after so long apart and for the many jobs which are so heavily dependent on tourism. It means we’ll be able to get more planes back in the sky and more of our people back to work."
"New Zealand was Australia’s second biggest source of international visitors before the pandemic. Today, it’s about to go straight to number one."
Joyce says demand has been strong and the airline has added more flights to Queenstown to meet expected demand during the peak ski season
Qantas is also now welcoming guests to First lounges in Sydney and Melbourne as well as its International Lounge in Brisbane.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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