Brisbane will be third home base for Tigerair Australia

BRISBANE, Australia – Brisbane will be home to the third Australian base for budget airline Tigerair Australia from 2014, in a significant boost to the Queensland economy and tourism sector.

Treasurer Tim Nicholls and Tourism Minister Jann Stuckey made the announcement this morning alongside representatives of Tigerair and the Brisbane Airport Corporation.

“The Newman Government is delivering on our promise to grow Queensland’s four pillar economy, as we continue to get the state back on track,” Mr Nicholls said.

“The Tigerair base will provide more than 100 new jobs, from the flight and cabin crews to additional ground staff when it’s up and running in March next year, with Queensland to account for 59 per cent of Tigerair’s capacity.”

Mr Nicholls said the base would launch new routes including Brisbane to Cairns, Darwin and Adelaide which are projected to provide 80,000 additional visitor seats annually into Queensland.

Ms Stuckey said the importance of Queensland as an iconic tourism destination meant the new base was an obvious choice for the budget airline.

“The Newman Government’s strategic approach to attract new aviation routes and flights has been important in helping to restore Queensland’s pre-eminence as a tourist destination,” Ms Stuckey said.

“We established the $8 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund to secure new aviation business and routes into Queensland.

“Queensland’s leisure destinations of Mackay, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast have featured on Tigerair Australia’s flight schedule since the airline commenced in Australia in 2007.

“Coupled with the airlines announcement of Sydney-Proserpine service, today’s announcement will also bring a significant boost to the state’s $22 billion tourism industry – one of the four pillars of the economy.”

Ms Stuckey said the Newman Government aimed to double overnight visitor expenditure from $15 billion to $30 billion by 2020.

Tigerair Australia CEO Rob Sharp said two new A320 aircraft will also be based in Brisbane.

“This is great news for consumers and for the economy providing a welcome shot in the arm for domestic tourism right around Australia,” Tigerair Australia CEO Rob Sharp said.

Flights on the new routes will go on sale from today.