Airline News

There are currently more flights than ever before to five domestic destinations – Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Canberra and Adelaide; and to our five international destinations – Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Kuala Lumpur. From October 2008 there will be flights to two more international destinations - Osaka and Norfolk Island; and from December 2008 to Tokyo. Travellers through Gold Coast Airport can now connect to anywhere in the world.

AIRASIA X KL Service Continues to Grow
AIRASIA X four weekly services to Kuala Lumper, Malaysia direct from Gold Coast Airport will increase to seven weekly services during the busy holiday period. From mid-December 2008 to mid-January 2008, you have the option to fly direct to Kuala Lumpur twice on Sundays and Tuesday through to Saturday. AirAsia X connects to AirAsia’s extensive network in South East Asia, providing a variety of destination choices. AirAsia X are doing their very best to minimise costs so that you can fly long haul with attractive fares. All enhancements to your flying experience are available as optional purchases, so you pay only for the things you really need. These options include:

XL Seats: These offer Xtra comfort and Xtra luxury. Enjoy spacious legroom and fully reclinable seats.
Pre-pay for your in-flight meal, comfort kit, checked baggage and advance seat request to save even more.

AirAsia X flies to Kuala Lumpur on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturday from Gold Coast Airport.
www.airasia.com

VIRGIN BLUE More Flights to New Zealand
VIRGIN BLUE have increased their services from the Gold Coast Airport from two to four weekly flights into Auckland - offering you more choices when travelling to New Zealand.

To reassert Virgin Blue’s commitment to “Keep the Air Fair”, Virgin Blue have introduced a new highly competitive “Go Fare!”. This will cut its lowest lead-in fares by up to $25 across more than half of the airline’s domestic route network including fares from the Gold Coast.

Did you know it’s free to join the Virgin Blue Velocity program online? It only takes a few minutes and offers some great benefits. For the past three years in a row, Velocity has been recognised as having the best rewards in the Asia Pacific region by the prestigious global frequent flier awards, ‘The Freddies’.
Fancy a break or need a holiday? Blue Holidays include a host of fantastic destinations such as: Melbourne, Hobart, Samoa, Hunter Valley, South Australia, and Canberra.

Virgin Blue offers flights direct to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Canberra and Auckland and offers connecting services across Australia from Gold Coast Airport.
www.virginblue.com.au

JETSTAR Commence Services to Japan
JETSTAR will be the latest low cost international carrier to fly into Gold Coast Airport. From 1 October 2008 Jetstar will operate daily direct services from Gold Coast Airport to Osaka, Japan and from December 2008, five weekly services to Tokyo. Locals will have more choices in long-haul destinations direct from the Gold Coast Airport.

The Gold Coast to Japan Jetstar services will offer both Economy and StarClass seating. In Economy class, passengers have the choice of either pre-selecting and paying for meals when booking or purchasing meals and drinks during the flight. Video demand and amenity kits are also available - your choice!

StarClass, Jetstar’s premium cabin, has a 38-inch seat pitch, giving you more room during the flight. When flying StarClass your meals, beverages, snack bar, amenity kit, and video on demand are all included and you can enjoy a total package experience offering more space and comfort. Plus Qantas Frequent Flyers travelling on Jetstar StarClass earn equivalent points as earned on Qantas Business Class flights.

Qantas Frequent Flyer members are eligible to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Status credits when travelling on Jetstar JetFlex tickets domestically and StarClass internationally.

Travelling with a family?
Jetstar has launched the Family Travel section on their website, a handy resource for children and parents flying with Jetstar. There are plenty of tips for travelling - for both parents and kids!
Jetstar offers services to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Christchurch, Tokyo and Osaka from Gold Coast Airport.
www.jetstar.com

Jetstar replaces Qantas services to Sydney
The strong position of Gold Coast Airport as Australia’s largest regional airport will not be negatively affected by the withdrawn Qantas two daily flights to Sydney. Currently there are 21 flights a day operating through Gold Coast Airport to Sydney providing local Gold Coast and Northern NSW residence ample choice when scheduling their travel to Sydney. Earlier this year Jetstar announced four additional flights per week between Gold Coast and Newcastle, more than doubling current capacity. “We have remained confident that we will continue to grow our business with the Qantas Group through the successful Jetstar operation at the Gold Coast Airport,” said Gold Coast Airport Chief Operating Officer, Paul Donovan. This has been reinforced with Jetstar’s commitment to our local residents for choice by commencing 12 flights a week to Japan in 2008. Gold Coast Airport is also currently investigating options for a membership based lounge for our local frequent flyers in lieu of the Qantas Club.

NORFOLK AIR to Commence Services at Gold Coast Airport
NORFOLK AIR will commence its Thursday services on 2 October 2008, using a Boeing 737-300 aircraft which offers both Economy and Premium Economy seating.

Norfolk Island offers a variety of tours and activities and is a very affordable international destination. With weekly Thursday flights direct from the Gold Coast Airport, holidaymakers can stay on the island for a week or more for an affordable holiday.

For information on flights and seven night packages please visit
www.norfolkair.com

TIGER AIRWAYS Real Cost Savings on Melbourne Route
TIGER AIRWAYS have revamped their Luggage Upsize™ policy to give passengers even more choices on how they want to fly. Passengers can now save by travelling light with up to 7kg of hand luggage free, or choose to pay an affordable fee when flying with checked luggage. This is part of Tiger Airways commitment to offering passengers real cost savings in air travel.

Travelling with your family or with a large group of friends? Wishing you had more leg room? Need easy access to the aisles? With Tiger Airways Seat Selector, you can now book seating with your travel companion(s) and in the seat that you prefer too. This is another convenient travel option available from Tiger Airways!

Tiger Airways flies direct from Gold Coast to Melbourne up to three times a day.
www.tigerairways.com.au

AIR NEW ZEALAND A Warm Arrival for our Kiwi Airline
AIR New Zealand and Gold Coast Airport celebrated the arrival of Air New Zealand to the Gold Coast with ‘breakfast on the tarmac’. Air New Zealand and 10 lucky competition winners had ‘breakfast on the tarmac’, hosted by local Gold Coast radio station, 102.9 Hot Tomato. Winners enjoyed breakfast alongside the Hot Tomato morning show and Air New Zealand representatives. Courtesy of Air New Zealand, the lucky winner, single Mum Debbie Biskupk, won airfares and accommodation for two to New Zealand for the weekend flying out that morning.

Air New Zealand offers both economy and business class fares to New Zealand and by December 2008, Air New Zealand will offer online seat request and on-demand touch screen entertainment on the back of the seats. This allows you to watch what you want, when you want. As a full service carrier, Air New Zealand also offers a food and beverage service.

On Air New Zealand you can connect to the Star Alliance Network, allowing you to fly to over 965 destinations in 162 countries. Air New Zealand flies direct to Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland and Christchurch with connecting services to North America, Europe and the South Pacific.
www.airnewzealand.com.au