Virgin’s announcement that two of its return flights per week would be downsized will have minimal impact on the region as the 300 lost seats equate to about 0.3% of the total Cairns domestic capacity.
Any loss of seats is disappointing, but we are confident that the recent addition of 3828 seats per week on Qantas routes will provide strong capacity as TTNQ continues to roll out domestic marketing campaigns in coming months.
Qantas added 11 return flights per week to Brisbane and started using A330 wide-bodied aircraft on selected flights to Sydney and Melbourne from 31 March.
A campaign launched by Tourism and Events Queensland with Ignite Travel to drive visitation to Tropical North Queensland, Townsville and the Whitsundays has been underway since 26 March.
The revenue per available room (RevPAR) in Tropical North Queensland in April showed the first positive month of growth since August 2018 with a 5% year-on-year increase.
The Amway incentive which brought 6000 visitors to Cairns between 20 March and 17 April would have helped these figures.
The Easter holidays also may have boosted the figure, as only part of the 2018 Easter holidays were in April, and they were closer to Anzac Day making it easier for people to take a longer break.
Pip Close
Chief Executive Officer
22 May 2019