12:18p.m. 23rd July 2008

Jetstar has announced today that it will reduce the number of flights between Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast from September 1.

The decision to axe one of the airline’s three daily flights to Melbourne follows the cancellation of flights between Adelaide to the Coast on July 1 and was described as a “real blow” to the region by Sunshine Coast Airport general manager Peter Pallot.

“We have worked very hard with our airline partners over the past two years to secure additional capacity into the key markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, which resulted in a record 918,000 passengers during 2007/08,” he said.

“Our aim now, is to work with the airlines, business and tourism partners to protect our existing flights and continue to work to win back lost capacity, including our Adelaide route.

“While passenger numbers have remained solid on this route, the profitability has been significantly eroded by the incredible increases in the price of jet fuel over the past few months.”

Mr Pallot said regional Australia was bearing the brunt of the effect of high fuel prices and this would impact on the local tourism industry and the regional economy.

“The Sunshine Coast is still one of the most popular tourist destinations in Queensland and we are working with Tourism Sunshine Coast and our local tourism organisations to ensure that a share of the $4 million Queensland Government assistance package announced last month finds its way to the Sunshine Coast to drive demand and complement our own regional partnership marketing initiatives,” he said.

Jetstar’s three daily services to Sydney are not affected by the changes.

Virgin Blue continues to offer two flights a day between Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast, while Tiger Airways had three services a week to Melbourne.