Jetstar Asia has completed its inaugural A320-200 flight from Singapore to Broome.
Flight JQ161 from Changi Airport touched down in Broome shortly before 2:15pm local time on Tuesday after a flight time of around four hours. The return service will operate twice per week until October, resuming in April 2025, and will add around 13,000 seats per year between the two cities.
Jetstar Asia is the only carrier now operating scheduled passenger flights from Broome, which previously saw a limited number of SilkAir charter services to Singapore in 2018-19.
“We know our customers love to explore, and with our low fares, they can now add Broome to their list of must visit destinations,” said Jetstar Asia COO Geoffrey Lui.
“As we continue to grow, we remain committed to delivering new experiences for our customers while making international travel more accessible and affordable.
“We would like to thank Tourism WA and Broome International Airport for their ongoing support in connecting the two cities with our low fares travel.”
Western Australia’s acting Tourism Minister, John Carey, said the route opens up a new international gateway for the state and is a “significant leap forward” in expanding WA’s aviation capacity.
“This Singapore to Broome service presents an incredible opportunity to turbocharge international visitor numbers to our North West, and inject millions into the region’s accommodation, hospitality, and tourism businesses,” he said.
“This new international entry point into WA will also provide new itinerary options for overseas visitors from around the world through Singapore’s Changi Airport as a major global hub, to help transform how visitors explore our magnificent state.”
Jetstar Asia’s launch of Singapore-Broome comes a few weeks before the anticipated commencement of Jetstar Australia’s service from Perth to Singapore on 1 August, which will operate up to six times per week using the airline’s new A321neo LR aircraft fleet.
Announcing the route last year, Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said Perth-Singapore, as well as services from Perth to Phuket and Bangkok expected to start in August and September respectively, will build on its popular route from Perth to Denpasar.
“These three new routes will open up low-fares travel right across Southeast Asia for our west-coast customers, including easy connections via Singapore onto Jetstar Asia’s extensive network to 13 destinations throughout Asia,” she said.