Virgin Blue<\/a> has re-affirmed its commitment to the people of Far North Queensland with the announcement that it will launch its first international service from Cairns to Auckland from 23 March 2010.<\/p>\nVirgin Blue\u2019s New Zealand-based international airline, Pacific Blue, will operate the twice weekly flight, which is scheduled on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with the airline committing a Boeing 737-800 aircraft to the market, representing a 79% increase in seats available on the route. <\/p>\n
In order to get the new route off the ground the airline has collaborated with a number of stakeholders including Cairns Airport Pty Ltd which has worked tirelessly to support Virgin Blue’s first international service. <\/p>\n
In celebration of the new services, the airline has launched a seven day \u2018Happy New Year Sale\u2019 with special fares for direct flights between Cairns – Auckland from $249* one way on the net, available from today until midnight 5 January 2010. <\/p>\n
Following the sale, regular lead-in fares will start from $349* one way on the net, around 15%^ cheaper than what is currently available with the only other competitor airline servicing the non-stop route.<\/p>\n
With over 30,000 visitors from New Zealand heading to Tropical North Queensland every year, Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said the new services will not only provide an alternative travel option but will also help grow the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re particularly excited about this new service as it\u2019s our first international route to and from Cairns. <\/p>\n
\u201cImportantly, we know that by putting more seats into the market and creating more competition we will be helping to stimulate tourism to the popular Far North Queensland region.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, the non-stop services will negate the need for travellers in either direction to connect via other ports, so a trip \u2018across the ditch\u2019 will be a much quicker, more convenient and affordable option for everyone,\u201d Brett Godfrey finished.<\/p>\n
For those looking for a New Year get away, Virgin Blue Airlines Group\u2019s holiday program Blue Holidays<\/a> also has a great package deal on offer including return flights from Cairns to Auckland and three nights in a Superior Room at Rydges Auckland from $870 per person twin share#.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YEAR SURPRISE FOR TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND SALE FARES FROM $249* ONE WAY Virgin Blue has re-affirmed its commitment to the people of Far North Queensland with the announcement that it will launch its first international service from Cairns to Auckland from 23 March 2010. Virgin Blue\u2019s New Zealand-based international airline, Pacific Blue, will operate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"http:\/\/www.virginblue.com.au\/cms\/groups\/e-commerce\/documents\/internetcontent\/p_001753.jpg\")
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