In a significant boost to inbound tourism, Jetstar will operate two weekly scheduled services between the Gold Coast and Wuhan in China with its 335-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner from 29 September 2015.
The introduction of the new service will be delivered in partnership with the Dalian Wanda Group who will use their significant presence within China to market and sell the seats.
The route will be driven by inbound travel, with Dalian Wanda Group selling integrated flight and holiday packages to the Gold Coast for Chinese travellers.
Jetstar Australia and New Zealand CEO David Hall said the new flights would deliver substantial economic benefits to tourism and hospitality operators in the Gold Coast.
“We are proud to connect the Gold Coast and China with direct flights, which is such an important tourism market for Australia,” Hall said.
“This new service opens up a direct link between Southeast Queensland and one of the largest travel markets in the world, delivering about 70,000 seats between China and the Gold Coast each year.
“It’s a credit to the Queensland Government, Gold Coast Tourism, Gold Coast City Council as well as Gold Coast Airport that they’ve been able to attract the Dalian Wanda Group’s investment to this vibrant region.
“We’re really pleased to contribute to this unique partnership and it’s a great opportunity for us to build our presence in the Chinese market with the establishment of a direct service from Australia,” he said.
Jetstar’s two times weekly service between the Gold Coast and Wuhan will operate on Tuesday and Saturday with a flight time of about nine and a half hours.
The flights will be operated with existing aircraft as the low fares airline increases its 787 fleet utilisation.
The announcement comes as Jetstar moves to add 10 supplementary return services to the Gold Coast from Melbourne and Sydney for the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
“As the largest low fares airline in Australia, we have the scale in our fleet to add extra services when we see demand spike,” Hall said.
“We’re expecting strong bookings throughout the week, as thousands of customers take the opportunity to travel to the sunny Gold Coast for a break during the long weekend,” he said.
Jetstar’s supplementary flights will deliver an additional 1,800 seats to the Gold Coast from Melbourne and Sydney between 5 and 8 June 2015.