Jetstar will increase its nonstop Sydney-Rarotonga route to four weekly services from 27 March 2024, upping annual capacity by an additional 24,000 seats in response to the Cook Islands’ increasing popularity with Australian holidaymakers.
With a nonstop flying time of around 5.5 hours on its Airbus A321neo LR, Jetstar Executive Manager, Customer Jenn Armor said the popularity of the route had exceeded expectations.
Jetstar launched direct flights from Sydney to the Cook Islands in June 2023 and has already transported more than 8,000 passengers to the South Pacific nation.
With the additional weekly flight, the low-cost carrier expects to carry 70,000-plus passengers between the two destinations each year.
Jetstar operates Sydney-Rarotonga flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays (moving to Fridays from 3 November 2023) and Sundays. The new direct service will take off on Wednesdays.
Flights depart Sydney at 9:30pm, arriving in Rarotonga at 6:30am the same day. The return flights leave Rarotonga at 9am, arriving in Sydney at 12:30pm the following day.
The inaugural June flight made history as the first nonstop service between Australia and the Cook Islands operated by an Australian airline since Ansett in the 1990s.
Boosting Cooks tourism
Cook Islands Tourism GM Australasia Graeme West welcomed the opportunity for more Australians to discover the Cook Islands.
“Demand from Australia has been strong and feedback from Australian visitors over the past few months has been excellent. Many said that the convenience of the direct flight influenced their decision to travel to the Cook Islands,” he said.
“We are a laidback, easy destination for Australian visitors and more nonstop flights from Sydney make it even easier.’”
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For more info, head to jetstar.com
