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QantasLink has brought its A220-300s to Coffs Harbour, replacing the now-retired 717 fleet on the route from Melbourne.
VH-X4A arrived in the northern NSW leisure destination at 6:38pm on Sunday as flight QF1298. The A220s are enabling Qantas to resume five weekly flights between Melbourne and Coffs Harbour, up from a temporary reduction to two weekly flights in June.
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The arrival of the A220 into Coffs Harbour follows the aircraft’s first non-capital-city service to Launceston two weeks ago.
“The A220 provides an incredible 71,000 seats annually between the two destinations, an increase of 20% on current capacity, with flights arriving in Melbourne in time for dinner. This is a proactive step towards greater regional connectivity,” said Frank Mondello, general manager of Coffs Harbour Airport.
“Coffs Harbour is only the second regional city in Australia to be serviced by the Qantas A220 and will provide a boost for regional tourism ahead of summer. We are grateful to Qantas for their ongoing support to help us connect our community and make it much easier for people to explore our beautiful Coffs Coast region.”
The A220-300s have 25 per cent more seats (137 compared to 110 on the 717) and twice the range and 28 per cent lower fuel burn per seat. The first A220, VH-X4A, arrived in Australia in December.
QantasLink CEO Rachel Yangoyan said the new aircraft offers Coffs Harbour travellers an improved passenger experience over the old 717s.
“We’ve had great feedback from customers on the A220 since it first started flying on our network earlier this year. It offers more space, larger windows, fast Wi-Fi and specially designed seats that will all vastly improve the travelling experience,” she said.
Coffs Harbour is currently served by QantasLink to Melbourne and Sydney, Rex to Sydney, and Link Airways to Brisbane. It was briefly a Bonza destination before the low-cost carrier’s collapse, but was one of the first airports to be dropped in a route reshuffle last year.
QantasLink now has four A220s in service, with the fifth expected to arrive before the end of the year out of a total order of 29 aircraft.
The regional jet made its first commercial flight with QantasLink in March and is expected to begin international services next year, replacing the previously earmarked Embraer E190 on services from Darwin to Singapore.
Qantas this week formally farewelled the 717 after more than 20 years of service, with VH-YQS making the airline’s final commercial 717 flight – from Sydney to Canberra – on Saturday.
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