Overview
From 12.01pm today, Queensland is once again letting in tourists (with a border pass) from across Australia (except Victoria) to visit its white beaches and coral reefs. To celebrate, Virgin Australia is selling half-a-million cheap flights to the Sunshine State.
Virgin? Yes. The same airline that, just months ago, entered voluntary administration. It has since been sold to US private investment firm Bain Capital and launched a comeback sale in early July.
Now, it has just kicked off its Good to Go sale, which is running from Friday, July 10 until midnight on Tuesday, July 14 (or until sold out) and includes fares as low as $85. It's not quite as much of a bargain as Jetstar's earlier $19 flight sale, but the tickets do include a 23-kilogram baggage allowance for economy class bookings.
Tourism Australia
Sydneysiders can pack that bag and jump on a flight to the Gold Coast for $85, to Brisbane for $89 and to Cairns for $139, while Brisbanites can take their baggage to the Whitsunday Coast for $89, to Sydney for $99 and to Hamilton Island for $115.
If you're hoping to head into Queensland in the next seven days, prepare for plenty of company: the government yesterday reported that 200,000 people had applied for the required border pass and that "congestion and delays" were expected.
Virgin Australia's Good to Go sale runs until midnight on Tuesday, July 14.