Freedom Air Launches Wellington to Gold Coast
Freedom Air Launches Weekly Wellington Service Direct To The Gold Coast
Freedom Air today announced that it is introducing a direct flight from Wellington to Coolangatta, making it the only airline flying Wellingtonians direct to Australia’s Gold Coast.
Fares start at just $189 (exclusive of an $8.00 insurance surcharge, $20 fuel surcharge and other taxes) and go on sale today, Thursday 9 September. The Saturday morning service will launch on 2 April 2005.
Rachel Gardiner, Freedom Air’s sales and marketing manager, says the decision reflects the increasing demand for easy-to-access, affordable flights to popular holiday destinations. The announcement comes on the back of the airline’s decision in July to introduce a Wellington-Nadi service from February next year.
Freedom will fly Wellington to Coolangatta once a week. It already flies direct to the Gold Coast from Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin. The airline’s really, really small fares and flights direct to the Gold Coast have seen a significant rise in the number of people flying Freedom in the past year, with an increase of 30% on flights to Queensland alone (June-June 03/04).
“We are seen largely as the leisure airline, which matches well with Queensland as one of Kiwis’ favourite holiday destinations. The high cost of airport and similar taxes in other destinations probably influence travellers’ choices as well,” Gardiner says.
“With the launch of our new Gold Coast and Nadi services, Freedom is now making affordable leisure breaks available to more and more people in the Wellington region,” she adds.
In addition to flying direct to Brisbane, from next year Wellingtonians will also be able to go direct to the Gold Coast and Fiji,