At 11am on Sunday, October 25, a Jetstar Airbus A320 will take off at Western Sydney International airport headed for the Gold Coast.
If all goes well, it will be the first commercial passenger flight from the new airport at Badgerys Creek.
And it will be the start of plans announced this morning for the flying kangaroo to become a feature at Western Sydney International from the very start.
As a result, domestic travellers will enjoy greater connectivity along some of the busiest airline routes in the world, with Jetstar and Qantas tickets set to go on sale today to fly from WSI to the east coast hubs of the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The inaugural Jetstar and Qantas services from WSI comprise:
- From October 25, Jetstar will operate up to 14 flights a week between WSI and Melbourne; four weekly flights to the Gold Coast and three weekly flights to Brisbane.
- Jetstar services will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft that can accommodate up to 188 passengers.
- And from March 28 next year, Qantas will operate four flights per week to Brisbane and four flights per week to Melbourne.
- Qantas services will be operated by QantasLink Embraer E190 aircraft that can accommodate around 95 passengers, with up to 10 business class seats and the remainder being economy seats.
“These Qantas and Jetstar flights will give all of Sydney, especially Western Sydney-siders, more choice and flexibility to travel domestically, with both airlines’ services expected to grow over the years ahead, in line with demand,” said Simon Hickey, the CEO of WSI, at this morning’s media conference onsite.
It was also revealed that WSI’s integrated 24-hour cargo precinct will officially open on Sunday, July 26, and Qantas will be one of the first cargo airlines to fly from the hub, when its freighter takes off on the evening of Monday, July 27.
WSI will also have trial flights touching down earlier in July to test the new precinct ahead of its formal opening.