Jetstar to increase flights to Launceston by 40%

[Ryan K]

From December this year, Jetstar is to increase flights to LST by 40%. This sees LST getting 4 x daily MEL, 2 x daily SYD and 1 x daily BNE.

Great news for both leisure and business travellers alike out of northern Tasmania.

Articles from the Hobart Mercury and Launceton Examiner websites:

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/07/22/160561_tasmania-news.html

http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/news/crime-and-law/more-jetstar-flights-for-launceston/1892720.aspx

[Ryan K]

C'mon Kain, where are you? I'm waiting for your "it's not fair on Hobart" reply! :D

[Kain C]

Only just seen it Ryan!!!

Whilst any capacity increase will be of benefit to the state regardless of whether it is in the North or South, I don't think that it is overly smart that JQ offers more seats to a port (LST) that gets half as many yearly passengers as another port (HBA). HBA already has higher fares and higher load factors than LST, so wouldn't it be smarter to put the extra capacity where the demand is? Hopefully HBA will get an increase too, since there were clearly insufficient seats to/from HBA last peak season. Maybe this is just a bit of leverage with the landing charge negotation still going on at HBA???

[Jarden S]

It must be the more expensive landing fees at HBA. Especially when Hobart its nearly double the population of Launceston and growing faster, so why does it have no new flights?

[Kain C]

Looking at the schedules, it appears to me that the early MEL-NTL-MEL is being dropped for MEL-LST-MEL at the end of October, and then the additional MEL-LST-MEL starts in December. HBA schedules still haven't been done yet. Other routes like MEL-OOL look down on capacity; they have gone from 8 daily down to only 6 daily even for xmas/new year. Maybe more announcements to come?

One interesting thing, was a quote from JQ in the Mercury article that these changes bring parity to LST and HBA services. By my reckoning; to MEL both have 4 daily, to SYD both have 2 daily, but to BNE only LST has a daily. So is this quote a mistake or is there a daily HBA-BNE in the pipeline?

As for HBA growing faster, remember the MONA museum is opening in January, and is expected to bring a significant number of visitors. Hope there's good transport from LST airport to MONA in Hobart!

[Ryan K]

I'm suprised JQ don't try BNE-HBA again. BNE-LST was upgraded from 4 x weekly to daily this year. Surely a daily BNE-HBA would work! I've got no doubt the ridiculous schedule times of a near midnight arrival in BNE was the cause of this route's demise a couple of years ago.

[lloyd fox]

BNE-LST EXTRA daily flight has become only a extra 2 flights a week according to the timetable ???

Also the extra BNE-CNS DLY is only 5 a week .

Also the extra BNE-MEL is fine but BNE-AVV drops from 14 to 11 a week.This was never mentioned ????

[Nathan Bartlett]

From the 17DEC10 the BNE-LST goes 2X Daily. They Cancelled a few in the first week 10-17DEC due to poor loads.

Cheers

[Kain C]

Interestingly, I only saw those first few cancellations two days after the QF BNE-HBA x2 per week services were announced, so it seems QF/JQ did a bit of shifting. Also interesting is that the 2nd daily BNE-LST doesn't run for the second week of January, but then does run for the 3rd week??? It is a bloodbath on TAS-QLD now. We've gone from JQ x4 weekly LST-BNE (320)and DJ daily HBA-BNE (E90) up to JQ double daily BNE-LST (320), QF x2 weekly BNE-HBA (737), DJ x8 weekly BNE-HBA (737) and of course JQ daily HBA-OOL (320). It will be surprising if they fill them all!

[Dan Hammond]

well i was on QF1024 today from HBA-BNE and there was more empty seats then PAX on the plane.

[Ryan K]

Interestingly, I only saw those first few cancellations two days after the QF BNE-HBA x2 per week services were announced, so it seems QF/JQ did a bit of shifting. Also interesting is that the 2nd daily BNE-LST doesn't run for the second week of January, but then does run for the 3rd week??? It is a bloodbath on TAS-QLD now. We've gone from JQ x4 weekly LST-BNE (320)and DJ daily HBA-BNE (E90) up to JQ double daily BNE-LST (320), QF x2 weekly BNE-HBA (737), DJ x8 weekly BNE-HBA (737) and of course JQ daily HBA-OOL (320). It will be surprising if they fill them all!

I agree Kain, it may be hard to fill all those seats! But, from a Tasmanian perspective it's great to see all these seats to/from BNE & OOL to LST & HBA.