Qantas' expands Dubbo flights as it launches $10 million Regional Grants Program at The Exchange

Qantas' boss Petrea Bradford unveiled its $10 million program at The Exchange on Tuesday, with visiting regional development minister Kristy McBain, and has invited the City of Dubbo Eisteddfod Society's latest dance group winners to perform.

Over five years, Qantas will provide a $2 million grant each year for an estimated 1,500 not-for-profit and volunteer community organisations applying this year, and Bradford is urging the region's community groups to participate in the grants program doubled in amount this year.

"As an airline born in regional Australia, we know how important it is to give back to the communities we serve. After the extremely challenging years of the pandemic, it's great to be in a position again where we can invest in communities across Australia," Bradford said.

McBain said she was pleased to join Bradford in announcing the grant that benefited the Bega Valley community she represented as its previous mayor, with many amazing individuals and not-for-profit groups assisted through the program.

"With Qantas' help, their innovative and uplifting projects will be delivered. It's super exciting because it's focused on them for they do great work across regional Australia. I encourage them to get behind this program because sometimes they need extra money to get things done," McBain said.

Dubbo Eisteddfod director Kim Chandler said they are among the local NFPs applying for the grant to enable them to cover airfares of adjudicators, and judges coming from interstate and provide scholarships in dance, music, and drama students.

"We mainly rely on the generosity of our sponsors and if we are successful with the grant it will help us," Chandler said.

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Bradford said Qantas in Dubbo would begin flying the larger Q400 planes from March this year to increase its sector's passenger capacity from 50 to 70 seats as the carrier's operations have returned to pre-COVID levels.

Dubbo airport is one of the busiest regional airports in the country flying nearly 200,000 passengers in and out of the region each year, 75 per cent are business travels, and operated and maintained by the Dubbo Regional Council along with RPT Airlines.

The Council's masterplan by 2040 is to allow the regular operation of large air tankers used for firefighting by the NSW Rural Fire Services and enhance transport links for key industrial areas that will see future operations of larger commercial flights such as Boeing 777.

"Our operations have been going very well here, we've been working hard on our improvement plans throughout last year which people would have seen. We're pleased to say we're back to the pre-COVID level of performance over the past months.

"[For Dubbo sector] we're flying a similar amount of 26 sectors a week in and out of Sydney to Dubbo but what we have done is increase the size of our planes from Q300 which provided 50 seats to Q400 which is around 70 seats so we now have more seats available for Dubbo passengers starting this March.

"We constantly look for opportunities to increase our sectors which is something we do every day as part of our business."

Asked to comment on Dubbo Regional Council's recent announcement of a plan with the NSW government to widen and make a longer runway for bigger airplanes, Bradford said "we're always supportive of any developments of airports to make it better for the flying customers".

"We're looking forward to supporting that if that is something that Dubbo is doing."

Application for the Qantas Regional Grants program opened on Tuesday, February 21, and closes on May 9, then successful recipients announced in June. Application details are available by clicking here.