China Considers Brisbane Flights
AAP | Jun. 20, 2006
Australian state of Queensland's Premier Peter Beattie said Chinese airlines are considering direct flights to Brisbane in a potential tourism bonanza.
Mr Beattie, who is in Beijing on the last leg of a trade mission that began in Russia, today said executives from China Southern Airlines, Tourism Queensland and the Brisbane Airport Corporation had formed a working group.
Mr Beattie said the group would discuss the airline's interests in operating from Guangzhou to Brisbane.
He said China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines had also shown an interest in a non-stop service from Shanghai to Brisbane.
"There are a number of technical and operational issues being worked through, but China Southern senior executives will be travelling to Queensland later this month and they will have further discussions with Queensland government, aviation and tourism industry representatives," Mr Beattie said.
He said the tourism growth potential from the Chinese mainland was huge, with forecast growth in Chinese visitors of about 16 per cent annually over the next decade set to inject as much as AU$6 billion into the state's economy.
Mr Beattie said scheduled air services capacity from China to Australia increased almost 50 per cent last year, but there were currently no direct flights from China to Queensland.
"I'd like to see some non-stop services directly to Brisbane to cater for those Chinese visitors to Queensland who currently must arrive through either Sydney or Melbourne or through offshore hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong," he said.