Flights to Cairns

THE Land of the Long White Cloud has moved that little bit closer to Far North Queensland with the announcement Virgin Blue is starting a new Cairns to Auckland service.Starting from March 23, Virgin Blue’s New Zealand based carrier, Pacific Blue, will operate twice weekly flights from Cairns on Tuesdays and Saturdays.Combined with Air New Zealand’s existing service from Cairns to Auckland, this will increase seat capacity on the route by close to 80 per cent.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism Australia will launch a $400,000 campaign to market Cairns to New Zealanders within the next six months to increase patronage along the route.It is estimated more than 30,000 people from New Zealand visit the Far North each year.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey said the new services would not only provide an alternative travel option, but would also help grow the market.We’re particularly excited about this new service as it’s our first international route to and from Cairns, Mr Godfrey said.

Furthermore, the non stop services will negate the need for travellers in either direction to connect via other ports, so a trip across the ditch will be a much quicker, more convenient and affordable option for everyone.Cairns Airport CEO Stephen Gregg described the announcement as a breakthrough for the city’s tourism industry.It follows announcements earlier this month of Jetstar adding extra services from Cairns to Japan, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, and Qantas upgrading six flights a week from Brisbane.

We’ve got all the right natural attributes, because to get to Cairns from New Zealand in the past you’ve had to fly over Brisbane or the Gold Coast, which has constraints upon travellers, Mr Gregg said,An increase in capacity for direct services means the destination becomes a lot more prominent in the travel industry over there as well.TTNQ CEO Rob Giason said Virgin Blue's announcement was sensational news.He said TTNQ would team with Tourism Australia to launch a $300,000-$400,000 campaign to market Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef to New Zealanders.