Qantas boosts flights to regional Queensland

Qantas will upgrade its services to Rockhampton, Gladstone and Mackay in March, while also launching additional flights to Emerald, Bundaberg and Roma.

The Red Roo's regional airline QantasLink will introduce two Boeing 717 jets on the Brisbane-Rockhampton and Brisbane-Gladstone routes on March 15, with Brisbane-Mackay to follow on March 26.

"The introduction of QantasLink’s two new B717 aircraft in Queensland will deliver an increase of over 200,000 seats per year in Queensland" says QantasLink Executive Manager Narendra Kumar. "QantasLink’s new 115-seat B717 services will offer customers faster flight times and more seats at peak times by complementing existing aircraft on these routes.”

(Don't be mislead by Kumar's use of the word 'new', however: they might be new additions to the QantasLink fleet but Boeing stopped making the jet in 2006 and most Qantas Boeing 717s are over a decade old, having been acquired from Impulse Airlines in late 2001.)

QantasLink will also boost flights and add Q300 and Q400 aircraft to several key Queensland destinations:

• Bundaberg gains four extra flights per week from March 15
• Roma picks up an additional two flights per week, also starting March 15
• Emerald goes from 76 to 84 flights per week, beginning March 26

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.