Qantas commences Whitsunday services

by Susan Boyd on 1 Jul 2005 Tomorrow marks another special aviation day for the Whitsunday region, with Qantas commencing services to the Great Barrier Reef Airport on Hamilton Island.

The new services will allow easier access for international visitors to visit the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands as their destination of choice.

‘The two-class, full-service Qantas flights allow easy connections for international visitors arriving in Brisbane from ports such as Los Angeles and Japan, as well as providing convenience for domestic passengers travelling from southern ports of Australia, such as Sydney and Melbourne, on the extensive Qantas domestic network,’ said Hamilton Island’s Managing Director Wayne Kirkpatrick.

‘This is tremendous news for tourism in the Whitsundays.’

Mr Kirkpatrick last week attended Australia’s largest travel tradeshow, the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in Perth, where travel agents and tour operators from all over the world expressed their enthusiasm and support for the level of choice in air travel and versatile holiday options now offered to their customers travelling to the Whitsundays.

Whitsunday Island and Airlie Beach guests will now have a choice of four airlines after Virgin Blue commenced daily services this month to Hamilton Island’s Great Barrier Reef Airport, in addition to the wide network of daily Jetstar flights already operating out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and QantasLink flights from Cairns.

‘The Great Barrier Reef Airport has been well serviced by the Qantas Group for a long time,’ said Mr Kirkpatrick.

‘The low-cost Jetstar services have stimulated air-travel and domestic tourism in Australia and exposed the beauty and versatility of the Whitsunday region to holidaymakers who may not have previously considered this destination. We’re delighted that we now have Qantas and a choice of airlines to meet the needs of the diverse visitor-experiences offered by the Whitsundays.’

‘To have a choice of low-cost quality carriers like Virgin Blue and Jetstar as well as the full-service flights provided by Qantas is very appealing for Australian travelers, international visitors and travel agents and tour operators alike. Coupled with the diversity of the holiday experiences provided in the Whitsundays, the travel industry is indicating that we are becoming the region of choice for holidaymakers seeking a Great Barrier Reef experience,’

Qantas will operate three services a week between Brisbane and Hamilton Island on a 737-400 aircraft, which has a capacity for 144 passengers. The services will operate on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday with convenient international and domestic connections from southern ports.

‘The entire Whitsunday region will benefit from these flights and we are very excited to have four great airlines servicing the area,’ said Mr Kirkpatrick.