Wirraway
27th Mar 2004, 04:49
Sat "Geelong Advertiser"
Jetstar set to announce more flights from Avalon Airport
Saturday, March 27
Gelong Advertiser - Rebecca Tucker
JETSTAR will next week announce more flights from Avalon Airport in the wake of overwhelming public support for Australia's newest airline.
Brisbane is proving the more popular choice for Avalon passengers with 80 per cent of tickets sold for its inaugural June flights.
Jetstar chief executive officer Alan Joyce last night said both Sydney and Brisbane tickets were selling well above expectations.
"The buzz we are getting when we visit Geelong is fantastic and if we continue to get this public support then we will continue to grow,'' Mr Joyce said at a City of Greater Geelong reception to welcome the airline.
In response to the public support:
AVALON Airport owner Linfox will announce an expanded upgrade to its $3 million infrastructure works to cater for Jetstar's expected growth;
JETSTAR is negotiating a sponsorship deal with the Geelong Football Club;
A RAILWAY station could be built at Avalon to service the airline within the next few years; and
JETSTAR'S website, which has had 15 million hits since its public launch last month, will have a direct link to the Great Ocean Road website, enhancing the region's tourism potential.
Mr Joyce said community support, demonstrated by today's Geelong Advertiser advertisement featuring more than 550 businesses and organisations endorsing the airline, ``fills us with confidence this was the right decision to make''.
He said the airline's introductory offer of 100,000 $29 flights sold out within 36 hours.
"Our website has had more than five times the number of hits than some of the biggest carriers in the industry.''
Mr Joyce said the airline would add more flights to the Brisbane and Sydney routes before adding other destinations.
He hoped to announce a sponsorship deal with the Geelong Football Club soon.
He quashed doubts about the long-term viability of discount airlines after several failures including Hazelton Airlines, which based at Avalon in the 1990s.
"If you look at the industry world-wide, the most successful airlines are the low-cost airlines ... people are making a lot of money,'' Mr Joyce said.
"We have Qantas behind us to get us established and we believe we are the lowest cost carrier in Australia and consistently have the lowest fares.''
Avalon Airport manager Tim Anderson and Linfox boss David Fox, also at the City Hall reception, said the company was finalising arrangements to make an announcement about expanding the airport's growth to cater for extra flights.
Work has already begun to improve the airport's infrastructure.
Mr Anderson said the airline was finalising a commuter bus network to run a service for every flight in and out of the airport.
He said a railway station based at Avalon was a possibility within 18 months of the airline's take-off.
"The support the airline has had from the public and business community has been quite amazing,'' Mr Anderson said.
He said in 1998, when Linfox took over Avalon Airport, there were no Qantas employees in the region. ``Six years later, we're approaching 1000 Qantas full-time employees.''
City Hall chief executive Kay Rundle told more than 100 business and community leaders, including local mayors and councillors and state and federal politicians, the airline's entry to Geelong had already started to boost the region's economy.
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Jetstar set to announce more flights from Avalon Airport
Saturday, March 27
Gelong Advertiser - Rebecca Tucker
JETSTAR will next week announce more flights from Avalon Airport in the wake of overwhelming public support for Australia's newest airline.
Brisbane is proving the more popular choice for Avalon passengers with 80 per cent of tickets sold for its inaugural June flights.
Jetstar chief executive officer Alan Joyce last night said both Sydney and Brisbane tickets were selling well above expectations.
"The buzz we are getting when we visit Geelong is fantastic and if we continue to get this public support then we will continue to grow,'' Mr Joyce said at a City of Greater Geelong reception to welcome the airline.
In response to the public support:
AVALON Airport owner Linfox will announce an expanded upgrade to its $3 million infrastructure works to cater for Jetstar's expected growth;
JETSTAR is negotiating a sponsorship deal with the Geelong Football Club;
A RAILWAY station could be built at Avalon to service the airline within the next few years; and
JETSTAR'S website, which has had 15 million hits since its public launch last month, will have a direct link to the Great Ocean Road website, enhancing the region's tourism potential.
Mr Joyce said community support, demonstrated by today's Geelong Advertiser advertisement featuring more than 550 businesses and organisations endorsing the airline, ``fills us with confidence this was the right decision to make''.
He said the airline's introductory offer of 100,000 $29 flights sold out within 36 hours.
"Our website has had more than five times the number of hits than some of the biggest carriers in the industry.''
Mr Joyce said the airline would add more flights to the Brisbane and Sydney routes before adding other destinations.
He hoped to announce a sponsorship deal with the Geelong Football Club soon.
He quashed doubts about the long-term viability of discount airlines after several failures including Hazelton Airlines, which based at Avalon in the 1990s.
"If you look at the industry world-wide, the most successful airlines are the low-cost airlines ... people are making a lot of money,'' Mr Joyce said.
"We have Qantas behind us to get us established and we believe we are the lowest cost carrier in Australia and consistently have the lowest fares.''
Avalon Airport manager Tim Anderson and Linfox boss David Fox, also at the City Hall reception, said the company was finalising arrangements to make an announcement about expanding the airport's growth to cater for extra flights.
Work has already begun to improve the airport's infrastructure.
Mr Anderson said the airline was finalising a commuter bus network to run a service for every flight in and out of the airport.
He said a railway station based at Avalon was a possibility within 18 months of the airline's take-off.
"The support the airline has had from the public and business community has been quite amazing,'' Mr Anderson said.
He said in 1998, when Linfox took over Avalon Airport, there were no Qantas employees in the region. ``Six years later, we're approaching 1000 Qantas full-time employees.''
City Hall chief executive Kay Rundle told more than 100 business and community leaders, including local mayors and councillors and state and federal politicians, the airline's entry to Geelong had already started to boost the region's economy.
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