Sydney, Newman flights postponed

Qantas have deferred the introduction of a new direct service between Sydney and Newman due to weaker than expected demand.

A Qantas spokeswoman said on Thursday afternoon that the service, which was to start on May 15, would now not begin until July.

“It’s based on weaker than expected demand and we’re also looking to improve the schedule … so we can provide east coast customers with easier connections through to Sydney for the Newman service,” she said. “(The flight from Sydney) was originally scheduled to depart every Tuesday at 6.15am so we will be looking to re-time that so customers from Melbourne or Newcastle could fly down in the morning and then connect through.”

The service was to utilise Boeing 737-800s, offering 168 seats.

The Qantas spokeswoman said the airline would be contacting all affected customers to offer alternative flights from July onwards.

A refund would be issued to those not wishing to re-book.