Flighthacker

Cold in Melbourne? Fly to Phuket from December! Photo Credit: Shelby Lee Root

V Australia has announced the following new routes: Melbourne to Phuket, Brisbane to Phuket and Melbourne to Johannesburg, with the Phuket routes commencing 3 December and J’burg kicking off on 13 March, 2010! To celebrate, fares are now on sale ex. Melbourne and Brisbane to Thailand for $399 one way and ex. Melbourne to South Africa for $1899 return including taxes! Sale ends 31 August 2009 or until sold out and for travel from 13 March 2010 to 31 May 2010 (Johannesburg) and 22 November to 17 December 2009 & 15 January to 31 May 2010 (Phuket).

Flights to Phuket run twice weekly from Brisbane and weekly from Melbourne, with the potential for greater frequency to be announced later in the year. In related news, flights from Melbourne to LA will commence on 1 December, with two flights plying this route each week.

View V Australia’s press release for details and to book. Go wild!

I’m glad that the V Australia flights are kicking off after a week of speculation, as I personally believe that Melbourne Airport is under-serviced, despite being highly receptive to new passenger markets. In the last 12 months, passenger numbers have been on the rise in the face of current economic conditions – there has been a 33% increase in passenger numbers from Malaysia and India (thanks to an aggressive effort from Air Asia X), contributing to a 2% increase overall. Comparatively, Sydney Airport passenger flow has dropped 4% and Tiger has recently terminated its Canberra service. So, good luck, V Australia! I’m certain demand for these routes will soon soon outstrip supply.

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