SilkAir to fly to Cairns

SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will commence direct flights between Singapore and Cairns, which is located in Queensland Australia, on 30 May 2015, subject to regulatory approvals.

SilkAir plans to operate the Cairns service three times weekly on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, through circular routings with Darwin. The inaugural flight and subsequent Saturday flights will depart Singapore for Cairns non-stop and then return to Singapore via Darwin. The Monday and Thursday flights will fly to Cairns via Darwin and then return to Singapore non-stop. The detailed schedules are as follows (all times stated are local):

From Singapore:

To Singapore:

With the launch of Cairns, the number of destinations in SilkAir’s route network will increase to 49 destinations in 12 countries. The new services will be operated with SilkAir’s latest Boeing 737-800 aircraft, featuring both Business and Economy class cabins. Customers will be provided with a full service experience, including in-flight meals, baggage allowance of 40kg and 30kg for Business and Economy class respectively, as well as through check-in if they are connecting to or from another SilkAir or Singapore Airlines point via Singapore.

Commenting on the new route, SilkAir’s Chief Executive, Mr. Leslie Thng, said: “This is an exciting development for SilkAir, to be able to expand our presence in the Australian market. With the launch of Cairns, we, together with our parent company Singapore Airlines, will soon serve a total of seven points in Australia, namely Cairns, Darwin, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. “We believe this new service will be of interest to the leisure travellers as Cairns is well known for being the gateway to the popular Great Barrier Reef.”

Founded in 1876 as the port for inland goldfields, Cairns is the hub of Tropical North Queensland and has the closest access to the Great Barrier Reef, which is the largest reef in the world, measuring 2,011km in length and 72km across at its widest point, also making it the world’s largest World Heritage Area.

Queensland’s Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games, Jann Stuckey, has praised SilkAir for its confidence in Queensland’s tourism sector.

“SilkAir’s new services into Cairns will bring an estimated 20,000 extra visitors annually into one of Australia’s most desirable destinations,” she said.

“The Queensland Government looks forward to working in partnership with SilkAir to deliver international marketing activities over the next three years to support this highly anticipated service.”

Cairns Airport also welcomes the announcement by SilkAir that the airline is to operate flights on the Singapore – Cairns route from May 2015.

Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Brown, said the Singapore service will provide an enormous boost to the region’s tourism industry. “Connectivity between Singapore and Cairns will make it even easier for international visitors to reach our holiday destination,” Mr Brown said. “This route will provide vital links through to Cairns from Asia and Europe.”

"I am also sure many people living in our region will welcome the service as a convenient option for travel to Singapore and beyond from Cairns.”

Customers are advised to note that the new flights may not be immediately available in computer reservations systems due to the lead-time required in making system updates.

Cairns will be the airline’s second Australian destination after Darwin, which was launched in March 2012.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia