Two new seasonal services on the Brisbane to Queenstown route take off within a week of each other, putting all four international carriers on the trans-Tasman ski corridor over winter.
Queenslanders chasing snow now have more direct ways to reach the slopes from this month, with Jetstar and Air New Zealand both launching seasonal Brisbane to Queenstown services in June.
Jetstar flies first. Its direct Brisbane to Queenstown service starts on 15 June, operating three times a week through the snow season to the end of September. The low-cost carrier says the route will deliver more than 17,000 seats across the season on its A320 aircraft.
Air New Zealand follows a week later, with its three-times-weekly service beginning on 22 June and running until 23 October, operated by a 165-seat A320neo.
For advisors building winter itineraries, the timing is the story. From mid-June, Jetstar and Air New Zealand join the year-round Brisbane to Queenstown services run by Qantas and Virgin Australia, giving the route its fullest line-up of the year.
That depth of access matters because Australia is Queenstown’s dominant source market, as Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods told Karryon when he spoke to us last year at TRENZ.
“I think it’s roughly 1.3 million Aussies coming in a year. And of course, we have that direct connectivity into Queenstown airport from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane… and all four airlines flying in, which is the only airport in New Zealand that has all four airlines,” Woods said.
Woods said the drawcard for Australians is not only the skiing but the value and ease of getting there.
“Many Aussies find Queenstown easier to ski than local fields, particularly from Sydney. If you think about a five hour drive down to Jindabyne, it’s easier to jump on a plane, and actually often cheaper, even with the airfare,” he said.
The exchange rate helps too. The Australian dollar is buying around NZ$1.22, near a decade high and up about 13 per cent on a year ago, stretching every dollar Aussies spend once they land.
A morning slot worth noting
Air New Zealand’s return service departs Queenstown at 9.05am, an unusually early slot on a route where most trans-Tasman flights leave in the afternoon.
Queenstown Airport Chief Executive Shane O’Hare said the new services reflect sustained demand for travel between the resort town and Australia.
“This region has long held a special place in the hearts of Australian travellers, and we continue to see that enduring popularity reflected in the strength of our trans-Tasman passenger numbers,” he said.
A record year behind the capacity
The new Brisbane to Queenstown routes land as Queenstown Airport reports its busiest year for international travel on record. The airport says it has passed one million international passenger movements in a single financial year for the first time, with FY26 forecast to close at about 1,066,000.
Total passenger movements for the year are expected to reach roughly 2.8 million, up from 2.6 million the year prior, the airport says. International travel now makes up about 35 per cent of all movements at Queenstown, compared with around 30 per cent before COVID.
The Brisbane build-up is part of a wider trans-Tasman push that dominated the trade conversation at TRENZ 2026 in Auckland. Jetstar’s parent Qantas Group is adding close to 800,000 trans-Tasman seats across the 2026 financial year, and the carrier is lifting its Brisbane to Auckland service to twice daily, an extra 99,000 seats a year, alongside the new Queenstown flights.
O’Hare said the airport would keep working with its airline partners and regional tourism bodies to back further growth across the Tasman.
KARRYON UNPACKS: Four carriers on a single seasonal route is a lot of metal chasing one ski season, and it points to confidence that Brisbane to Queenstown can absorb the lift rather than just split the existing pie. The question worth watching is what that competition does to winter fares, and whether a corridor this crowded stays this crowded once the snow melts.
