Virgin Blue launches new flights to Hobart and Townsville
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The Virgin Blue Airlines Group is increasing its presence in the Canberra market, 06-Apr-09 launching not just one, but two brand new direct flights from the nation’s capital.
The airline will commence direct daily services from Canberra to both Hobart and Townsville, offering convenient and affordable access to two fantastic destinations which offer a range of leisure and business opportunities for Canberrans.
The new flights will complement Virgin Blue’s existing flights from Canberra to Brisbane (4/day), Melbourne (6/day), Gold Coast (1/day) Adelaide (1/day) and Sydney (8/day) and represent an increase of 10% in frequency to the Canberra market.
Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “We have been working hard to stimulate the Canberra market from a tourism perspective and we have also had a strong focus on getting our fair share of air travel from within the Government and Corporate travel sectors. Our evolving product and services both in-flight and on the ground are striking a chord with travellers and we continue to make inroads. As a direct result of this, we are keen to add even more flight options to the Canberra route network.”
Both Hobart and Townsville are brand new direct flight options from the ACT, with Virgin Blue the only carrier to offer non-stop services to the destinations.
The Canberra-Townsville daily flight presents an opportunity to benefit Defence equipment suppliers and contractors along with government personnel, as it offers direct access to the city which is home to Lavarack Barracks (Australia’s largest Army base), Ross Island Barracks (Army amphibious operations) and RAAF Base Townsville (Permanent and Reserve Air Force).
Virgin Blue has also identified a trend of Guests taking advantage of connecting services between Canberra and Hobart via Melbourne. The airline is keen to offer quicker and more convenient access to the Tasmanian capital, world famous for its environmental wonders, as well as its burgeoning gourmet food and wine scene.
Virgin Blue will operate the executive style EMBRAER jet on these routes, the same aircraft that operates the Capital Jet services between Canberra and Sydney.
Brett Godfrey added, “We are pleased to be increasing our presence in Canberra and are hopeful it will have flow on benefits not just for the local business and government sectors but also for tourism in Canberra and surrounds itself.”
"In the current economic climate, decisions where to direct our aircraft are not randomly pulled out of a hat. We believe there is potential demand to support these new flights, have been buoyed by support for existing Virgin Blue services and are hopeful that support will be extended to the Tasmania and Townsville services.”
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 06-Apr-09
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Virgin Blue launches new flights to Hobart and Townsville 
