Avalon-Brisbane flights take off

FLIGHTS between Melbourne Avalon Airport near Geelong and Brisbane began today (Friday, June 28), and the airport’s executive chair has used the occasion to again make the case to build a public transport link between Avalon and the railway line.

Jetstar has been operating out of Avalon for 20 years, and the flights between Avalon and Brisbane are the budget airline’s 100th Australian route.

The Airbus A320 service takes the total of daily flights to Avalon to seven and is expected to bring tens of thousands of Queenslanders to Melbourne, the Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road each year.

Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins, Melbourne Avalon Airport executive chair David Fox, Jetstar Group chief executive officer Steph Tully, Avalon acting chief executive officer Ari Suss and other dignitaries gathered at Avalon’s domestic terminal earlier today for an event celebrating Jetstar’s first Avalon-Brisbane flight.

Speaking at the event, Mr Fox said there was once a time where Avalon was hosting 16 to 18 flights a day.

“COVID’s kicked in, Tiger have come and gone, Bonza have come and gone, AirAsia have come and gone, but the true partnership that continues to this day is the one with Jetstar.”

He referenced the ongoing debate about building rail link to Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine, including this week’s release of a report by the federally-appointed mediator between the Victorian government and Melbourne Airport that found the rail link “remained both viable and necessary”.

“We call ourselves Geelong, we call ourselves Melbourne; I call ourselves Victorian,” Mr Fox said.

“I want to create an opportunity that creates a competitive nature against the blokes who live down the road who are getting a $20 billion rail station.”

Mr Fox said a railway station and connectivity to Avalon could be built for 2 per cent of that $20 billion figure.

He said Avalon had a catchment of 3.2 million people within an hour’s travel, compared to the 1.2 million people within an hour of Sydney’s second airport at Badgerys Creek.

“We have the capacity right here within Victoria to compete with New South Wales.”

Mr Fox said the Fox family had spent more than $450 million at Avalon over the past 10 years, employed 2,200 workers, had $2.7 billion in investment opportunities, and the precinct was expected to generate more than 3,000 jobs within the next five years.

“We are prepared to put money into the train station; Tullamarine’s not prepared to.”

He said he would love to find a tenant for the empty international terminal at Avalon – built for AirAsia in 2018 – as it was an “unutilised asset”, and discussions were continuing with overseas carriers.

“I won’t even mention our previous international partners because they weren’t partners. To have a friend, you need to be a friend. If you half-trust someone, you don’t trust them at all.”

Ms Tully said the Jetstar-Avalon relationship was an important one for the airline, and Jetstar was offering $95 fares to promote the new Avalon-Brisbane route.

“[Avalon] was one of the first airports we flew from, one of the first partnerships we had, and a really important part of the Jetstar culture and history, so Avalon remains a true part of the history and the future for Jetstar.”

The Victorian government is subsidising the new route, but Ms Hutchins declined to reveal the exact mechanics of the deal, saying it was commercial in confidence.

“This new service between Avalon and Brisbane is a great win for our regional economy and tourism jobs,” she said.

“Victoria is proud to be the home of Jetstar and to have played a key role in its growth and expansion along the way, as we mark 20 years since it first took to the skies.”