The main low-cost carriers serving the Australian market are Freedom Air, Jetstar and Virgin Blue. The latter airline, which boasts the “youngest fleet of 50 Boeing 737 New Generation aircraft” in Australia, is a subsidiary of the UK-based Virgin Group. Virgin Blue connects all major destinations along Australia’s eastern coast with Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Broome and Darwin. The airline also serves various New Zealand airports and popular island destinations such as Fiji and Samoa.
Jetstar, named the world’s best low-cost airline by Skytrax in 2007, is a Qantas subsidiary connecting Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Freedom Air is the low-cost airline operated by the Auckland-based Air New Zealand Group. Started in 1995 with a single aircraft, the carrier has a fleet of 250 Boeing 737s today. Principal destinations in Australia include Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne, which are serviced from New Zealand airports in Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Palmerston North. |
|
