Earlier this week, Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A350 touched down into Cairns for the first time.
This marks an exciting new chapter for the airline’s relationship with the Australian airport.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Singapore to Cairns: Airbus A350!
The inaugural Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 flight, SQ203, arrived into Cairns from Changi on March 31.
This upgrade is expected to provide more seats on offer, as well as more tonnage when it comes to cargo.
The scheduling for these flights is as follows:
Emphasising this point further was Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President, South West Pacific, Louis Arul:
“The introduction of the Airbus A350 is a significant investment in the future of this direct major tourism and cargo route, reflecting our confidence in North Queensland’s tourism and trade market”.
“The new service builds on the almost 10-year history of the SIA Group in Cairns.”
“We are delighted to deliver around 23,000 extra seats as well as an additional almost 2,500 tonnes of cargo capacity per year to North Queensland exporters.”
Adding to this was Cairns Airport Chief Executive Officer, Richard Barker:
“For more than 610,000 international visitors expected this year, including 80,000 travelling via Singapore, Cairns Airport is the gateway to world-class natural attractions, unique cultural experiences and countless tourism opportunities across Tropical North Queensland”.
“Singapore Airlines already supports 13 per cent of international demand for Cairns travellers, and the new services and increased cargo capacity are a welcome investment in the continuing growth of regional tourism.”
Welcomed By Tourism Industry…
The addition of the Airbus A350 to the Singapore-Cairns route has been welcomed by those in the tourism industry.
Tourism Minister Michael Healy said the following on this:
“Singapore Airlines bringing the A350 widebody aircraft into Cairns is such an important link to our traditional long-haul markets; we’re talking the US, we’re talking Europe and Asia”.
“This increased capacity also provides huge opportunities for our agricultural and aquaculture industries to sell directly into these markets.”
“What that means is we can make flights more economically viable.”
“If we can fill the bottom of those planes with fresh produce, and fill the top of them with travellers, it will guarantee that route for a very, very long time.”
Overall…
In conclusion, this is a major milestone for Cairns Airport, as the relationship with Singapore Airlines grows.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on the eventual benefits that the local area will receive from this.
With the flights operating four times per week, it will be interesting to see if this goes to daily or not.
But for now, let’s see how operations with the Airbus A350 perform on this route.
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