Jetstar’s domestic flying to exceed pre-COVID levels by early 2021

Jetstar is set to operate more domestic flights in February and March 2021 than any previous year.

The increased schedule will see the budget airline flying more than 850 return flights per week to 55 domestic destinations by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

These extra services will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A320s that would normally operate to overseas destinations like Bali and Singapore.

The boost in flying represents more than 110 per cent of Jetstar’s pre-COVID domestic schedule (compared to March 2019), and follows research recently conducted by Jetstar that showed that 86 per cent of respondents intend to travel domestically in 2021.

More than half of the 1,500 people surveyed also said they plan to visit destinations they’ve never been to before and, in good news for businesses reliant on tourism, are more likely to spend on domestic travel than they would have been in previous years.

As part of the travel survey, Hobart and Melbourne saw the biggest rise in popularity as destinations, with Cairns and the Gold Coast rising even further in appeal to families, with international travel off the cards for some time to come.

Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans said travel demand to popular holiday spots is bouncing back in the lead-up to the summer holidays.

“Australians are globally renowned for loving travel and, as we approach 2021, demand for our low fares services is stronger than ever,” he said.

“While international borders remain closed, more Australians are set to explore places around the country they have never visited, which is great news for local hospitality and tourism operators.

“We have a lot of repair work to do, given the huge toll the COVID crisis took on airlines.

“But the flexibility we have across our fleet means we can offer these extra services, help boost tourism and the local economies of the communities we fly to, and also get more of our people back in the air.”

To support its extra services, Jetstar has launched its annual Christmas sale with more than 300,000 domestic fares available across 55 routes, starting at just $29. The sale runs until 11:59pm (AEDT) on Saturday 19 December, unless sold out prior.

Featured image source: Jetstar

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