By James Wilkinson
South Australia’s MICE industry has been given a huge boost, following today’s (May 7) announcement of new Tiger Airways flights between Sydney and Adelaide.
Tiger has announed new Sydney-Adelaide flights
With Tiger flights now on sale for just $48 each way and hotels offering huge discounts at present to win new business, conferences in the South Australian capital are more affordable than ever before.
South Australian Premier Mike Rann welcomed the new flights and said the announcement was perfectly timed, with the state’s biggest ever tourism campaign currently running on the eastern seaboard.
“We are trying to lure busy professionals to our coastal playground for adventurous, fun and relaxing holidays through our $4.5 million ‘Isn’t It About Time’ campaign”, he said.
“The introduction of Tiger Airways new low-cost flights from Sydney to Adelaide will give prospective travellers more ways to reach South Australia.
“This is great news on the back of Tiger Airways’ new base opening at Adelaide Airport in March, generating 60 jobs in South Australia,” he said.
The Sydney flights, which will operate daily from July 31, will add 2500 seats per week on the route — the seventh from Adelaide for Tiger Airways.
“While other airlines are streamlining their operations, we’re continuing to buck the trend… Tiger Airways is the fastest growing airline in Australia today, providing convenient and low-cost flights to our customers across Australia,” said Tiger Airways Australia managing director, Shelley Roberts.
Roberts said the airline was performing well in 2009 on the back of increased passenger numbers.
“Already in the first quarter of 2009 we have recorded an 8.7 per cent increase in passenger numbers when compared with the same period last year,” she said. “Our capacity and load factors increased by 7.6 and 0.9 per cent respectively.”
The Sydney-Adelaide route won’t be easy flying for Tiger though, with Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Blue already operating hundreds of flights combined per week.
The new route also comes on the back of new Sydney-Melbourne flights announced recently by the Tiger – four flights per day in each direction commence on July 3.
