It’s time to put Alice Springs on your long weekend break list with Virgin Australia flight placing Australia’s Red Centre even closer to Brisbane.

Virgin Australia’s direct Brisbane to Alice Springs twice weekly service on Tuesdays and Thursdays onboard Alliance Airlines’ Fokker 100 and 70 jets which will see you enjoying a Red Centre getaway around two hours and forty minutes.

 

More about the new routes

  • Cheaper and faster
  • Comfort plus
  • What a welcome!
  • Heading home
  • What to do in Alice
Window view flying to Alice Springs from Brisbane.

Cheaper and faster

While Qantas has been offering weekend flights for a while, the new mid-week services open up options for long weekend stays from Thursday to Sunday, Saturday to Tuesday or more.

Travelling directly is cheaper and more time efficient too, shaving a minimum of two and a half hours off the flight time plus less airport waiting time.

When Jetstar’s new direct Brisbane to Uluru flights launch in August, visitors will be able to fly into Alice and fly out of Uluru after completing the Red Centre Way.

Virgin’s codeshare partner is Alliance Airlines, which claims the title of Australia’s leading air charter operator.

Virgin Australia shares with Alliance Airlines on their Brisbane to Alice Springs route.

Comfort plus

I flew on their Fokker 100 which has a two seats, row, and three seat configuration for the 100 economy seats. The very spacious seat pitch offers lots of room for passengers, and there were two metres of standing height.

My snack was a chicken sandwich with tasty cheese and mayo, Bega cheese and a couple of biscuits and a Mentos. Coffee, tea and water are free, but you need money, not cards, to buy other drinks.

I waved goodbye as we flew over Mt Coot-tha then headed north-west between Miles and Emerald towards Alice Springs.  There were a few bumps along the way, so the Captain changed the flight level to give a smoother ride.

Looking out on a vast, flat, khaki coloured land I could see punches of deep green and chunks of sparse forest.

It was 16 degrees when we arrived in Alice at 1.10 pm.  On both days, flights will depart Brisbane at 10.15am and arrive in Alice Springs at 1.05pm.

Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns from The Kangaroo Sanctuary.

What a welcome!

The inaugural flight was welcomed by a water cannon salute from aviation firefighters creating a water arch as the plane taxied to the airport.

Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns who shot to fame thanks to a BBC series on his work at The Kangaroo Sanctuary was there to meet passengers on the inaugural flight. There are not many airports where the first thing you see when you get off the plane is a kangaroo joey.

Heading home

The return leg departs Alice Springs at 1.40pm and arrives back in Brisbane at 5.00pm. Alice Springs is 30 minutes behind Brisbane

Not only are the new flights a boon to Brisbane and Alice Springs residents. Brisbane Airport is Australia’s most domestically connected airport, so international travellers entering Australia through Brisbane can now fly directly to more destinations across the nation than if they come through any other port.

With Central Australia, a ‘bucket list’ destination for both domestic and international travellers, six of the top 10 markets connecting via Brisbane to/from Alice Springs will come from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand, the United States, Singapore and Indonesia.

What to do in Alice

Don’t miss the chance to visit artist Kathleen Buzzacott and spend time in her studio.

More tips at Visit Northern Territory

Disclaimer: Ed+bK was hosted by Virgin Australia and Northern Territory Tourism.

Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns from The Kangaroo Sanctuary.