Qantas has announced their Wellington – Brisbane service will be upgraded from an E-190 to a larger B738 aircraft from October this year, adding an extra 35,000 seats per year between the two cities.
Wellington Airport has welcomed the news as a vote of confidence in trans-Tasman travel to and from Wellington.
“Qantas launched this service in October last year with the E-190, and it’s great to see the level of demand supporting the up-gauge so soon,” says Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke.
“It confirms Qantas’s status as Wellington’s largest international airline, well ahead of any other airline by total seats and number of return flights operated.
“More capacity on this popular route is great news for Wellington travellers, tourism and businesses.”
Qantas are operating 28 return flights across the Tasman from Wellington per week, and with this upgrade will be totalling 485,000 seats per annum - up around 30% from pre-Covid levels. Travellers are then able to connect from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane onto the Qantas global network.
The arrival and departure times from Wellington will move forward slightly, from the current 3:25pm and 4:25pm to 3:40pm and 4:45pm respectively.
Further information is available at https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/.