QantasLink today announced it will deploy larger aircraft and put on additional services on key routes in Queensland from 1 July, meeting the strong demand from Queensland communities and corporate customers.

The announcement includes:

Six additional return flights between Roma and Brisbane per week, increasing the number of seats on this route by 372 seats to 3174 seats.

Key services between Bundaberg and Brisbane upgraded to the faster, larger Q400 74 seat aircraft, which will add 144 seats per week.

An extra return flight between Longreach and Brisbane on Thursday’s, serviced by a Q300 50 seat aircraft, adding 100 seats per week.

QantasLink Executive Manager John Gissing said he was delighted QantasLink is increasing capacity and deploying larger aircraft in Bundaberg, Longreach and Roma.

 “I’m delighted that we are once again increasing capacity on our Bundaberg, Longreach and Roma routes. We have proudly served the Bundaberg community for over 31 years and have exclusively served the Longreach and Roma community since 2001, and today’s announcement strengthens our commitment to these communities.

 “Demand for services on these markets has grown significantly over the past few years and I’m pleased that we can step up to cater for the increased needs from these communities. Our diverse operations and fleet of aircraft mean that we have the flexibility to put on larger aircraft and increase capacity depending on the market conditions and demand from our corporate and leisure customers.

“QantasLink proudly supports regional communities in Queensland. We have increased our capacity in Queensland by 8% this year, which is great for local tourism and regional economies.

 “We have also added an extra Bombardier Q400 to our fleet, bringing the total in the QantasLink fleet to 29. The Q400 is a state-of-the-art aircraft, with jet like speed, revolutionising travel and providing the highest levels of passenger comfort of any turbo prop in operation in regional Australia today,” said Mr Gissing.

 QantasLink is Australia’s largest regional airline and operates a network of 56 metropolitan and country destinations across Australia as well as to Port Moresby.