Starting April 1, 2021, Qantas will offer three new routes to Coffs Harbour and Ballina (Byron Bay), with service to Coffs Harbour from Melbourne and Brisbane and flights between Canberra and Byron Bay.
On Friday (February 19, 2021), Qantas announced the launch of three new routes to the North Coast for holidays by the sea starting April 1, 2021. The carrier is launching daily Boeing 717-200 service between Melbourne and Coffs Harbour with more than 1,750 seats on the route each week. Qantas will also offer four weekly flights from Brisbane to Coffs Harbour, which will be operated with a Q400 (now De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400) turboprop, with around 600 weekly seats. Next, the carrier will launch first-ever service between Canberra and Byron Bay with two weekly flights, which will be operated with a Q400. The Canberra-Byron Bay (Ballina) route will launch in April and Qantas will consider maintaining the route in July based on demand.
In Friday’s announcement, QantasLink’s CEO, John Gissing, said,
“With international borders closed, we want to make it even easier for travellers to holiday around Australia. The beautiful coastal hubs of Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour continue to be incredibly popular with travellers, so it makes sense to provide direct connections from other capital cities to make them even more accessible. Travellers from Canberra can spend more time on the beach and less time on their journey with our direct service to Byron Bay.
“We’ll be promoting these new flights to millions of our frequent flyers across the country and think they’ll enjoy the benefits of our premium service, including complimentary food and drinks, baggage and lounge access before they fly out. These new flights are good news for local businesses, hospitality and tour operators, helping drive tourism and reviving the industry that has been hurting from COVID-19.”
Additionally, Qantas is adding more seats between Sydney and Coffs Harbor for the April school holidays by adding a two-class Boeing 717-200, which will operate alongside the existing Q400 service, bringing the total available seats to 4,300 per week. To celebrate the launch of the new routes, Qantas is offering introductory one-way fares from only $129, for travel between April and October. To qualify for the special fares, travel must be booked by 11:50 PM on February 21, 2021 (unless sold out prior).
Qantas currently operates up to 20 weekly return flights between Sydney and Ballina Byron Bay and 20 weekly return flights between Sydney and Coffs Harbour. The carrier also recently announced an extension of their booking flexibility policy, allowing unlimited flight changes through at least January 2022.
Source: Qantas