A Chinese conglomerate has helped fund two new weekly Queensland air services to Asia, with Qantas budget subsidiary Jetstar set to link the Gold Coast with the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The route, which would begin services on September 29 subject to regulatory approval, would be serviced by a 335-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner and be funded, in part, by a partnership with the Dalian Wanda Group.
The route would be driven by inbound travel, with Dalian Wanda Group selling integrated flight and holiday packages to the Gold Coast.
Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive David Hall said China was an important tourism market for Australia.
“This new service opens up a direct link between South East Queensland and one of the largest travel markets in the world, delivering about 70,000 seats between China and the Gold Coast each year,” he said.
The 9½-hour flights between the Gold Coast and Wuhan would operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
“We’re expecting strong bookings throughout the week, as thousands of customers take the opportunity to travel to the sunny Gold Coast for a break during the long weekend,” Mr Hall said.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the new service would provide seats for up to 35,000 passengers a year and add millions to the local economy.
“The new route represents an important aviation milestone for Queensland, marking the introduction of the first non-stop services from China into the Gold Coast,” she said.
“Over two years the Wuhan-Gold Coast service has the potential to generate $53 million in visitor expenditure to the local economy, in turn supporting jobs and small business.”
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said 60 per cent of all Chinese visitors to Queensland included the Gold Coast on their visit.
“City of Gold Coast has long recognised the opportunity of the Chinese market and working with Gold Coast Tourism has driven the push for direct flights,” he said.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a concerted campaign which will inject millions into the local economy and help create more local jobs.”
Gold Coast Tourism chairman Paul Donovan said about 186,000 Chinese tourists visited the Gold Coast every year.
“China is Queensland’s largest international market by visitor expenditure, with visitors spending $591 million in the year to September 2014,” he said.
（长江网记者张莹颖）5月5日，湖北万达新航线国旅总经理谢宏与澳大利亚捷星航空正式签订《澳大利亚黄金海岸市直航中国武汉市定期航班营销运营协议》，9月29日将正式开通武汉直航澳大利亚黄金海岸市的定期航班。这将改写大中华地区赴澳洲最著名旅游城市黄金海岸市无直航班机的历史，武汉的通航将填补这一空白，改变现有的中国至澳大利亚航线版图的格局，为增进大中华地区与澳大利亚的经贸、文化、旅游等架起了一个便捷的桥梁。
长江网记者获悉，捷星航空是澳大利亚最大的国有航空公司澳洲航空的全资子公司，2014年被世界航协评为世界最安全的十大航空公司第一名，是澳大利亚航线最多、覆盖面最广的航空公司。在澳洲最重要的城市间平均每小时就有一架飞机，有“澳洲空中巴士”之称。
该航班是华中地区首次直航澳州的定期航班，同时也是目前包括港澳台在内的大中华地区唯一赴黄金海岸的直航航班。此次直航航班机型B787-800，共有335个座位，包括21个商务舱。航班开通后，将于每周二、六，以每周两个往返航班的频率飞行，黄金海岸-武汉：10:55-18:30，武汉-黄金海岸：20:20-07:25+1，湖北万达新航线国际旅行社有限责任公司承担主体切位销售。
据谢宏总经理介绍，该航班开通的头两年，万达新航线将承担着机位销售工作，全面推动两国之间的贸易和旅游业的发展，并逐渐向文化交流、自由行、探亲、留学等方面发展。澳大利亚捷星航空相关负责人也表示，此航班运行后，捷星航空也将增加后续增值服务，利用本土优势，提供从黄金海岸至澳大利亚各大城市，如悉尼、墨尔本、凯恩斯以及新西兰奥克兰等地的航班与本航班的配套，使乘坐本航班的客人能更加方便、快捷。
此次航班的开通也得到了澳大利亚昆士兰州、黄金海岸市政府及旅游局的大力支持，在5月5日的签约仪式上，昆士兰州州长、旅游部长，黄金海岸市市长、旅游局局长，昆士兰州机场公司CEO、万达集团黄金海岸项目公司、悉尼项目公司，及当地政要、社会名流等均出席签约仪式并见证了这一历史时刻。