The FINANCIAL — Qantas announced on December 21 that, as a result of improving demand, it would begin increasing capacity across a range of domestic routes from 29 March 2010.
Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alan Joyce, said the move would see the airline add more than 340,000 seats over the following 12 months, as it restored capacity removed in response to the economic downturn.
"We are seeing some improvements in domestic demand and so the time is right to begin restoring capacity to ensure we are well placed to meet that demand," Mr Joyce said.
"The changes will see the addition of a total 19 return services across selected routes, while capacity will be restored on others by upgrading from Boeing 737 to larger Boeing 767 aircraft.
"Combined with Jetstar's recently announced domestic growth plans for 2010, new routes for QantasLink, and the assessment of new growth opportunities for Qantas, the Qantas Group remains best placed in terms of offering customers multiple airlines, high frequency services, a genuinely comprehensive network and extremely competitive fares."
Additional services will be introduced on the following routes:
* Adelaide-Melbourne – 3 per week (currently 64 per week), 1,200 seats per week
* Brisbane-Sydney – 6 per week (currently 140 per week), 2,016 seats per week
* Brisbane-Townsville – 3 per week (currently 33 per week), 912 seats per week
* Melbourne-Perth – 1 per week (currently 45 per week), 288 seats per week
* Sydney-Ayers Rock# – 1 per week (currently 7 per week), 336 seats per week
Upgraded Services * Brisbane-Cairns – six per week, 912 seats per week
* Brisbane-Melbourne – six per week, 912 seats per week
# seasonal July-October 2010
Mr Joyce said Qantas would also increase existing daily Cityflyer services between Adelaide and Brisbane.
"From 29 December, we will add four B737 services per week to the current 20, increasing capacity by 20 per cent, or nearly 70,000 seats per year, on this key inter-city route," he said.
"We will continue to monitor demand with a view to restoring further capacity at the appropriate time."
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