Alliance follows Qantas to launch concept daytrips

The tours, which will cost nearly $700 for adults, follow a similar initiative offered by Qantas and other international airlines during the last 12 months.

Alliance will initially operate trips on 15 May, 3 July and 18 September to Winton, but will consider adding additional dates depending on demand.

“The tour will offer members of the public an action-packed day visiting the Australian Age of Dinosaurs and the Waltzing Matilda Centre,” said the business in a statement.

The ticket price will also include return jet flights, attraction entries, an outback pub lunch, tour of Winton township and all transfers. The business hopes it will be popular with those flying into Australia when international borders open later this year.

Alliance Airlines CEO Lee Schofield said, “We believe by offering a very competitively priced daytrip to Winton, these world-class attractions will be accessible for the first time to visitors looking for a unique, short break to the outback.

“We are hopeful that with the support of the public, we will not only be able to add to the number of planned departures, but also consider extending this program to other parts of the Queensland outback in 2022.”

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Qantas has launched a number of concept flights this year, which have proved popular with interstate travel limited.

Its initial Great Southern Land ‘flight to nowhere’ toured the country in October with Captain Alex Passerini dipping as low as 4,000 feet as he flew past landmarks such as the Great Barrier Reef, over the Whitsundays and Uluru.

The airline followed that by offering similar day trips from Sydney to Uluru in December, with the “overnight outing” including a pre-flight lounge champagne breakfast and low-level fly-bys of Sydney Harbour. Finally, it moved to offer flights to mystery locations outside of major capital cities last month.

Alliance has been one of the few success stories of the pandemic, capitalising on the reduced schedule of larger carriers and the need for COVID-adapted planes.

In May 2020, it even announced it had increased profits that financial year by $7 million.

The good results allowed it to sign a deal for 14 new E190 jet aircraft in June 2020 and then a further 16 in December 2020. The aircraft will join its existing fleet of Fokker F100s, Fokker 70LRs and Fokker 50 turboprops.

“Alliance, since inception in 2002, has a track record of purchasing aircraft at opportunistic times and at significantly reduced value to their market value,” said Alliance’s managing director Scott McMillan previously.

“With many airlines not flying and the increased demand for a 100-seat narrow-body configured aircraft in the Australian market, this acquisition is more than opportunistic, it underpins our expected growth.”