Launceston Airport general manager Paul Hodgen has welcomed Qantas’ move to increase capacity into the North.
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Qantas announced on Tuesday it would introduce a Boeing 717 service between Launceston and Melbourne, with the 110-seat jet expected to arrive over the busy summer period.
It said the jet will run 11 peak days of return services.
The newly refurbished Qantas premium contact centre was also unveiled in Hobart.
Mr Hodgen said the announcement will improve flight capacity with an extra 36 seats each way.
A spokesperson for Qantas said the travel time would be comparable to those currently offered, and the additional flights would be during the summer period.
Mr Hodgen said he hoped the flights would become a permanent feature, and that other airlines would follow suit in increasing capacity.
“We’re also very keen to explore the opportunity for new routes, like for instance QantasLink going on Sydney, Virgin going on Brisbane, Jetstar introducing an Adelaide service,” he said.
We’re also very keen to explore the opportunity for new routes.
- Launceston Airport general manager Paul Hodgen
More than 1.2 million passengers passed through the Launceston Airport gates from July 2015 to May of this year, representing a 4 per cent growth from 12 months ago.