Virgin Blue has boosted its regional efforts, with direct flights from Perth to Kalgoorlie increasing to four times a week from April 7 and a daily service to Broome from May 1.
“This is great news for people travelling within Western Australia as the new flights will provide a boost in capacity and encourage travel on the regional routes of Kalgoorlie and Broome,” Perth Airport CEO Graham Muir said.
Perth Airport has been experiencing record numbers of domestic passengers, with the December quarter 2004 showing growth of 10.3 per cent on the same period last year.
“The number of domestic passengers travelling through Perth Airport have been at monthly record levels for the past 28 months in a row. This reflects the effect of cheaper fares and increased capacity by Qantas, Virgin Blue and Skywest,” Mr Muir said.
A 70 per cent increase in flights to Broome in the past 18 months has led to a tourism boom in the region with operators saying there are not enough beds in town to meet demand.
A series of new tourism developments and upgrades, totaling more than $100 million, are pre-planned for existing tourism facilities to help cater for demand in Broome.