QANTAS has slashed the cost of airfares to Broome as part of a deal with the McGowan Government aimed at luring West Australians away from Bali.
Under the arrangement, Qantas will use a 180-seat Airbus A320, which normally runs fly-in, fly-out services to mine sites but is idle from Friday to Sunday. It will operate daily flights to Broome with a $179 one-way fare in the off season, and $199 in peak season.
While the State Government would not provide details of the deal it is contributing to the low fares through Tourism WA support. The fare deal is in response to government pressure for industry partners to offer competitive airfares on intrastate routes to counter the flood of WA holiday makers to Bali.
More than 400,000 WA residents fly to Bali each year.
Over the 12-month trial, 29,400 discounted seats will be available.
Qantas 787 breaks another speed record
The initiative will offer two ranges of airfare discounts, when booked either 60 days or 45 days before travel.
Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said this was “easily the biggest thing done for Broome by any State government.”
“The aim of this initiative is to provide affordable fares throughout the year to help stimulate leisure travel to Broome and the Kimberley,” he said.
“We hope it will encourage people to escape to Broome for a weekend getaway, or vice versa, or to plan a longer one to two-week stay and it is a higher quality offering than Bali.”
Mr Papalia said that he wanted to see Broome businesses respond and work with Qantas to offer innovative packages.
“Qantas has been responded incredibly well to the cost of travel to make this happen and I would encourage other airlines to follow,” he said.
Premier Mark McGowan said “providing more affordable flights for residents and tourists is a key part of our new tourism two-year action plan, to make sure people from Perth, interstate and overseas have the opportunity to access all of what our great State has to offer.”
Qantas group executive of government, industry and international affairs Andrew Parker said"this is a new opportunity that makes good use of aircraft that would otherwise be on the ground over the weekend.”
“It will help us deliver great value for travellers, stimulating tourism and driving new business opportunities for Broome and the Kimberley region,” said Mr Parker