PASSENGERS waiting to board Moree to Sydney QantasLink flights at Moree Regional Airport, now have new terminal seating as they wait for the bigger Dash 8 QF400 aircraft to arrive.

The seating, complete with built-in USB charging ports, can comfortably accommodate up to 40 passengers.

As Moree Plains Shire Council refines the seating layout, the electrical foundation to connect the USB charging stations will be established soon.

Moree passenger Penny Blatchford was very impressed with the new seating arrangements.

“They’re very comfortable, and there’s charging ports with two sizes, which is fantastic,” Mrs Blatchford said.

In mid-December, all Moree to Sydney return flights were upgraded Qantas Dash 8 Q400 series aircraft to fill an increase in demand for seats, with QantasLink flights now locked in until March, 2030.

It is estimated more than 30,000 people used the Sydney to Moree service on a yearly basis, prompting the upgrade to bigger aircraft.

Penny Blatchford (left) and Rose Kirkby try out the new seating at Moree Regional Airport.

When the new, five-year contract was awarded in October, QantasLink CEO Rachel Yangoyan said Qantas had a long history of connecting regional Australia.

“We’re proud to play a role in providing essential air links across the country,” Ms Yangoyan said.

“QantasLink has been flying to Moree since 1993 and we are pleased to be able to continue to provide these services for another five years.”

Meanwhile, Qantas again finished 2024 as the most on-time major domestic airline, according to figures released last week.

The latest monthly Government data confirmed 76.1 per cent of Qantas flights – Qantas and QantasLink combined – departed on time in 2024, compared to its major domestic competitor at 73.7 per cent. The result makes Qantas the most on-time major domestic airline for five years in a row.

Passengers board the bigger, Dash 8 QF400 aircraft at Moree Regional Airport.

Qantas domestic CEO Markus Svensson said it was important for customers to get to their destination on time.

“We’ve seen really positive improvements off the back of the work our teams have been doing over the past twelve months,” Mr Svensson said.

“We are pleased that we continued to see year-on-year improvement in our operational performance but there is still more work to do as it’s still not back at the levels that we are targeting.

“We are investing a lot in areas like engineering and efficient boarding processes to further improve our reliability and are working with the broader aviation sector on how we can lift the performance of the industry as a whole.”

QantasLink ticket-holders boarding at Moree are reminded luggage must be checked in at least half-an-hour before the scheduled departure time.