JQ begins selling MEL-BQB (Busselton WA)

[Saab34]

Would be good to see more of these smaller end town routes, they are highly convenient. Tiger used to operate Melbourne to Rocky and Mackay which would be good to see back again. Melbourne to wellcamp would be another.

This one would be skewing older leisure pax I’d imagine. Wine regions galore.

In fact looks like it was pre announced a while back. $13m terminal now to be built

Melbourne to Busselton direct set for take off

Direct flights from Melbourne to Busselton could be hitting the tarmac in six months in a big win for South West tourism.

www.google.com.au

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

I remember being surveyed about this around a year ago. Glad to see it come through. I would definitely consider a trip there.

 

[dajop]

Would be good to see more of these smaller end town routes, they are highly convenient. Tiger used to operate Melbourne to Rocky and Mackay which would be good to see back again. Melbourne to wellcamp would be another.

MEL or SYD -LEA would be a neat option too. I guess trouble is lack of infrastructure (accommodation etc).

 

[esseeeayeenn]

MEL or SYD -LEA would be a neat option too. I guess trouble is lack of infrastructure (accommodation etc).

There is nothing in LEA it's a sh*thole, it's just the closest airport to Ningaloo.

 

[DC3]

MEL or SYD -LEA would be a neat option too. I guess trouble is lack of infrastructure (accommodation etc).

Maybe do a direct turn around? Is that possible?

 

[dajop]

There is nothing in LEA it's a sh*thole, it's just the closest airport to Ningaloo.

Yes that's a more blunt description of "lack of infrastructure". I guess in a way it's good keeps the reef well off the radar of most, but a few good resorts in the area and it could be quite appealing.

Plenty of places would be sh*tholes without good accommodation and resorts (thinking lots of holiday hotspots in Asia ...)

 

[Mattg]

When booking on the JQ website, it says you'll earn 800 Qantas points if you add the Plus Bundle for $50. Presumably as MEL-BQB is over 1,500 miles, you would actually earn 1,450 Qantas points and 20 status credits?

 

[Doctore1003]

The Margaret River region is absolutely stunning. Great wine, food, beaches and nature. As a "wine region" I think it trumps Barossa/Hunter/Yarra Valleys etc. Best in the country IMHO.

 

[oz_mark]

When booking on the JQ website, it says you'll earn 800 Qantas points if you add the Plus Bundle for $50. Presumably as MEL-BQB is over 1,500 miles, you would actually earn 1,450 Qantas points and 20 status credits?

I would have thought so - it is going to be slightly shorter than going to Perth, but not that much shorter!

 

[oz_mark]

What? It's also called busso? That would have to be locals, right?

It seems a fairly recent innovation to me.

Definitely what the locals call it. I don't recall hearing them call it that years ago, but they certainly do now!

 

[kookaburra75]

The Margaret River region is absolutely stunning. Great wine, food, beaches and nature. As a "wine region" I think it trumps Barossa/Hunter/Yarra Valleys etc. Best in the country IMHO.

Agree, and being able to fly into Busselton rather than having to drive down from Perth is worth doing the flight on Jetstar. There's also further down, through the forests to Denmark, where there are a lot more wineries to explore, IMHO better than Margaret River

 

[CaptJCool]

Sadly, I won’t be on the first flight

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

I remember participating in the quantitative research at least 2 years ago on the route, and considering progress on the route went very quite until the last month, I thought the route would never see the light of day.
Margaret River is a spectacular region, and with the airport’s location in Busselton, this route will certainly provide an attractive time saving proposition then driving 2.5 hours down from Perth.
It’s great to see flight times that are not red- eye’s - something I did think JQ would initiate.

 

[Mr Isolated]

As a Margaret River local this is a dream come true. The extra 3.5 hours transit from Perth makes even the shortest flight an all day ordeal.

The excitement for locals is huge and is the talk of the town.

I will now be planning most of my reward bookings out of Melbourne with this flight as a positioning flight.

 

[Millie]

Very excited to have flights booked to visit Margaret River on this direct flight for a first time - thanks Jetstar!

 

[Kremmen]

SW WA is not a budget holiday destination like Bali. It's more of a premium destination, with wineries and up market accomodation.
Not sure if there will be a match between the market for the region and Jetstar passengers.
But time will tell!

That's what I was wondering. Margaret River was easily the worst tourist trap I've ever been to within Australia. Accommodation , food and wine all double the price of comparable quality offerings in the Barossa or Hunter. And then you ask some wineries if they have any fortified wines and they pull out something sourced from the Rutherglen! If you can afford to be ripped off that badly, you can probably afford a limo from Perth.

As a Margaret River local this is a dream come true. The extra 3.5 hours transit from Perth makes even the shortest flight an all day ordeal.

The excitement for locals is huge and is the talk of the town.

This makes way more sense. For locals, the access to the east coast without having to get to Perth would be great. And that'd be repeat business.

 

[nutwood]

Have to say, this is a great idea and I hope it works out. Busselton is a long drive from Perth. I've done it more times than I care to remember, sometimes up and back in the day. Being able to access the SW of WA from the East can only be good for all involved.

 

[baldman]

I’m a huge fan of Margs. Have plenty of friends there in the wine industry and the wine and food is fabulous. ( hope to make it to this years Margs Gourmet Escape )

One problem with this Jetstar initiative; it’s Jetstar. No joking, personally I’d rather make the drive from Perth after arriving via Virgin’s a330 biz. But I’d definitely be willing to fly Virgin’s narrow bodied tin into Busso.

I know you are cutting back on routes, but Please, please, please Virgin, enter this route !!!

 

[TheInsider]

One problem with this Jetstar initiative; it’s Jetstar. No joking, personally I’d rather make the drive from Perth after arriving via Virgin’s a330 biz. But I’d definitely be willing to fly Virgin’s narrow bodied tin into Busso.

I know you are cutting back on routes, but Please, please, please Virgin, enter this route !!!

Virgin will 100% NOT enter this route in the short or medium term!
Jetstar would only be doing it from probably huge incentives from the council. Anyway VA isn't a LCC and has higher costs which would make it financially unviable.

 

[TheInsider]

For those that are interested, the first flight from MEL-BQB only has around 39 seats left and the BQB-MEL has 79.
Quite good loads already considering it's about 5 months out!
(obviously the first flights are going to be quite full anyway)