Qantas boosts Tasmania and Canberra

New QantasLink services will be added to Hobart and Canberra

Qantas today announced it will add more than 2,700 weekly seats on its domestic routes to Tasmania and Canberra.

From 29 October, the Australian carrier will add an extra 1,700 seats per week to its Melbourne-Tasmania flights. The Melbourne-Hobart route will increase from twice to three times a day, while flights between Melbourne and Launceston will increase from 17 to 28 per week. The extra daily Hobart flight will be operated by QantasLink using a Bombardier Q400 aircraft, in addition to the twice daily Qantas Boeing 737 flights. Meanwhile the twice weekly Melbourne-Devonport service will be upgraded from a Q300 aircraft to a Q400 aircraft.

Tasmania’s Premier, Lara Giddings welcomed the extra flights. “That is fantastic news for Tasmania’s tourist operators, for hoteliers and for local businesses,” she said. “Today’s announcement from Qantas represents a significant investment in its Tasmanian services, and also reflects the growing confidence airlines have in Tasmania as a destination.”

Also from 29 October, Qantas will add five extra weekly services between Adelaide and Canberra, all operated by QantasLink using a Q400 aircraft.

By Mark Elliott, 16 July 2012, Monday 1:25 AM