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Airlines revel in pent-up passenger demand as Queensland border reopens
December 14th 2021
Australian airlines are celebrating the reopening of another domestic border with sales and full flights. Read More » Qantas Airways and Jetstar expected almost 10,000 passengers to travel to holiday destination, Queensland, after the borders between New South Wales and Queensland opened on December 13 for the first time in five months. The two airlines are expected to operate around 700 flights to and from Queensland across 28 routes compared with just 100 services last week. They forecast flights to increase to 1,200 a week from December 20. “There is huge pent-up demand for services to and from Queensland. Jetstar recorded a 50% surge in bookings in the first 24 hours after the State Government confirmed the reopening,’’ said Jetstar CEO, Gareth Evans. “The restart of our interstate Queensland flights is only possible because of the way Queenslanders and Australians more broadly have rolled up their sleeves to get the jab.” Virgin Australia (VA) celebrated the border reopening with a sale of one million seats, starting at A$59 (US$43), to Queensland destinations. Flight searches on its website rose by 120% after the reopening announcement last week, it said.
