Qantas has announced that it will introduce flights between Melbourne and the Gold Coast from 25 October. The flights will be operated daily by 737 aircraft. The timetable will vary by day of the week, and will be numbered QF880 for Melbourne to the Gold Coast, while the return flight will be QF881.
The flights from Melbourne to the Gold Coast will depart Melbourne in the morning at times varying from 9:10 am on Sundays, through to 10:55 am on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The return flights vary with departures from the Gold Coast being 10:55 am on Sunday, and 12:40 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Sydney – Sunshine Coast
In addition to the above lights, Qantas will also be introducing services between Sydney and Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. The new daily service will be operated by a Boeing 717 service. The new service will initailly begin with a timetable that varies by day of the week. However, from February 2016 the timetable will settle on a morning departure from Maroochydore, with a return from Sydney in the late afternoon.
Fleet Usage
Accoring to Qantas, the additional flying is being made possible by the introduction of an additional two leased Boeing 717 aircraft from early 2016 taking the total B717 fleet to 20. It is also offset by a reduction in intra-WA flying in response to a slowdown in the mining sector, and a shift to smaller aircraft on other routes in line with passenger demand.
Qantas have an introductory sale on the new services. For the Gold Coast flights, sales commence on Wednesday July 22 with initial promotional fares of $99 for a one-way journey in economy. The Sydney-Sunshine coast services will also have an introductory special of $89.