It’s 1 December and the doors to the Sunshine State are now wide open to those from Sydney and Victoria, which, for some, feels even more exciting than waking up knowing that the big man in red has visited.
December cheer is at an all-time high for thousands of Jetstar, Qantas, and Virgin Australia passengers, who will jet into the Sunshine State today for the first time since August, as the Queensland border reopens to Victoria and Sydney.
Almost 9,000 passengers are booked to travel today with the first Qantas and Jetstar flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Queensland filled with customers heading north for long-awaited reunions with family and friends as well as on holidays.
More than 1,200 Qantas and Jetstar team members will also return to work in December as a result of the Queensland borders re-opening.
Those who travelled on Virgin Australia’s first Melbourne-Brisbane flight (VA309) this morning were surprised with festive cheer, when the baggage carousel at Brisbane Airport transformed into a train of Christmas gifts, thanks to Havaianas.
Passengers from VA309 waiting for their luggage will receive a Christmas surprise like no other as over 200 pairs of the brand’s latest-edition bright red thongs arrive on the baggage carousel for their collection.
The thongs, a perfect gift to start the first day of summer, will help to welcome Victorians back to the Sunshine State after months of lockdowns and border restrictions.
“We’re really excited to see so many Victorians travelling to our great state today and you couldn’t get a more Australian gift than a pair of Havaianas thongs as a welcome back present.”
Virgin Australia Spokesperson
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said “we know it’s been a particularly tough few months for Victorians and in true Virgin Australia style we wanted to bring extra joy to their journey with us today.”
From today, Qantas and Jetstar will operate more than 420 return flights per week across 19 routes between Queensland and both Sydney and Melbourne, reconnecting families that have spent months apart and giving people the opportunity to book a well-earned summer break and change of scenery.
“Many of our customers have told us about how difficult the border closures have been, so we know today will be emotional for family and friends who can now reunite after months apart,” said Jetstar CEO, Gareth Evans.
“It is also terrific for Queensland tourism operators who have done it tough over the past four months with border closures severely impacting their businesses.
“From hotels, theme parks and cafes, to travellers and our people, everyone involved with Sunshine State tourism will be celebrating what is a fantastic day for Australia’s domestic recovery.”
Qantas Domestic Sale
To celebrate all the good news today, Qantas has launched a “See More Australia” sale, inviting travellers to explore the best of the nation’s backyard in 2021.
This is the national carrier’s largest network-wide sale since February, with more than half a million fares on sale across more than 150 routes around Australia for travel between February and June 2021, including:
- Sydney-Melbourne from $125 one-way
- Melbourne-Gold Coast from $135 one-way
- Adelaide-Melbourne from $109 one-way
- Brisbane-Gladstone from $139 one-way
- Hobart-Melbourne from $119 one-way
- Sydney-Perth from $219 one-way
Qantas has also today announced an extension of its “Fly Flexible” policy for travel until 31 March 2021, which enables customers to change the date of their flights once, without paying a change fee, if their circumstances change. Customers cover any fare increase (if any) for the new booking.
The “See More Australia” sale will run for seven days until 23:59 (AEDT) on 7 December 2020 unless sold out prior.
Click here for more information.