Jetstar crew celebrate the carrier's inaugural flight from Wellington (Picture: Michael Thomas)
Holidaymakers have arrived in Queenstown on Jetstar’s inaugural flights from Wellington and Sydney ready to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
The planes dotted down from the destinations for the first time today (Friday) as part of the airline’s continued expansion into the resort.
All but a handful of the 180 seats on flight JQ293 from Wellington were filled, with the A320 aircraft touching down in Queenstown mid-morning.
Meanwhile, more than 170 passengers winged their way across the Tasman from Sydney on flight JQ223 to arrive in Queenstown mid-afternoon.
Jetstar Australia & NZ CEO David Hall joined Queenstown Airport boss Steve Sanderson and Destination Queenstown boss Tony Everitt in welcoming passengers off the planes.
“We’re pleased to be bringing friends and families together for Christmas, and more visitors to Queenstown,” Hall says.
“In addition to our new Sydney and Wellington flights, we’ve introduced an extra weekly Melbourne service and two extra weekly flights to Auckland.
“In total, these services have the potential to bring an additional 180,000 additional travellers into the region each year,” Hall says.
“Our low fares, which are at least 30 per cent lower than our competitor’s, mean travellers have more money to spend once they arrive.”
Sanderson says the flights represent another significant inbound tourism injection for Queenstown.
“Since launching services just over two years ago, Jetstar has flown more than half a million passengers into Queenstown. It’s great that Jetstar continues to increase its commitment to the region.”
Jetstar operates 30 weekly return services to the resort, equating to more than 560,000 seats each year. On-time performance of Jetstar flights into Queenstown is currently around 88 per cent, with satellite-based technology significantly reducing weather-related delays.
The airline’s international and domestic passenger numbers to-and-from Queenstown soared almost 25 per cent to 238,000 in the year ended June 30, 2011.
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