Jake Nelson

The airline is set to expand and refurbish its Brisbane domestic lounge and reopen its invitation-only Beyond Lounge in Perth. Its current lounge network spans seven airports, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

The Flying Kangaroo currently operates 73 of the narrow-body aircraft, with another three parked. Its first 737-800, VH-VXA, was retired this month after almost 25 years in service, having operated its first flight in February 2002, and will be part of the AerFin deal.

The Chinese “big four” carrier, which began services to Darwin less than a year ago, will operate its last scheduled flight from Darwin on 3 December. Flights have operated three times per week.

The carriers, which temporarily shifted operations to Qantas T3 in April last year, came back to T2 on Wednesday as the terminal renovations near completion. They are once again operating from their previous gates G1 and G2.

The new Route 100, which will link the airport directly with the Cairns CBD as well as the hospitals and lagoon, will begin operating on 23 November. Buses will run every 30 minutes from 4am to 10pm every day except Christmas Day and Good Friday.

P1, which will replace the “outgrown forecourt road” in use since 1986, includes more than 1,700 parking bays as well as passenger pick-up and drop-off, taxis, rideshare services, and accessible parking. The current trials will determine a time frame for the official opening.