Jetstar lands in the Red Centre

Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia is predicting a spike in visitors to the Red Centre following this week’s announcement that Jetstar will replace Qantas services between Sydney and Ayers Rock.

The low-cost carrier will replace existing Qantas Sydney to Ayers Rock services with a four times weekly service from June 4.

The new flights will operate as a Qantas code share, while the carrier will continue to operate daily services and connections from Sydney and Melbourne via Alice Springs.

Voyages Indigenous Tourism heralded the announcement as a boon for Ayers Rock Resort, which received a $30 million refurbishment including a new meeting and conference centre earlier this year.

“Jetstar’s arrival is bound to cause excitement… and inspire even more guests to experience the magic of the Red Centre,” Voyages said in a statement.

Noting that daily Virgin services were an “incredibly popular” option for visitors, managing director Koos Klein remained confident that additional low cost options would draw more visitors to the resort.

“We are looking forward to working with Jetstar in a range of promotions for Ayers Rock Resort and I am sure the response from Jetstar customers will be a positive one,” he said.

Priced from $119, Jetstar flights will depart Sydney at 10.30am every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, arriving into Ayers Rock at 1.35pm. Return services will depart at 2.20pm, arriving in Sydney at 5.45pm.