Jetstar will significantly boost international low fares seats in southeast Queensland with new flights taking off yesterday between Brisbane and Seoul in South Korea, and today between Brisbane and Osaka, Japan.

Jetstar’s new flights directly connecting Perth to Singapore, Bangkok and Phuket are on sale now as part of a major expansion of the low-cost carrier’s Western Australian operations.

Jetstar’s inaugural flight from Australia to the Cook Islands took off from Sydney Airport last week — the first time an Australian airline has serviced the South Pacific route since Ansett three decades ago.

Qantas and Jetstar are gearing up for a busy school holiday period, as travellers make the most of additional capacity and new routes.

Natasha Banjac always wanted to work in aviation. Now the 45-year-old registered nurse and mum of three is realising her dream by signing up to one of Jetstar’s biggest cabin crew recruitment campaigns in its 19-year history.

Qantas will mark the end of an era with the departure of one of its Boeing 717 jets, the first of its type to be registered and flown in Australia. The departing 717 (registration VH-NXI) holds a special place in the Qantas Group’s modern history, having operated Jetstar’s first flight between Melbourne and Launceston on the day the airline started flying in May 2004.