The European travel giant invading Australia’s ‘golden triangle’

Australia’s highways are set to look a whole lot greener, as global transport operator FlixBus launches its bright-green hi-tech buses this summer in an attempt to lure Australians away from flying and driving between east coast cities.

Twelve years after the first FlixBus services began running in Germany, before spreading into more than 40 countries across four continents, the company says its preparations are on track to operate routes in Australia in time for the end-of-year holiday period. The expansion was first formally announced in July, but the company has been eyeing it for about eight years.

Yvan Lefranc-Morin is the managing director of FlixBus’ Australian operation, which will initially comprise a network along the east coast between Melbourne and Cairns. He believes the company’s trademark bright-green buses with flashy features will make the traditionally cheaper mode of long-distance coach travel exciting in a way that has been missing from the Australian market.

“We want to enter the Australian market by providing something new, not just copy-pasting what’s already existing here,” said Lefranc-Morin, who has worked for Flixbus’ parent company Flix for 10 years including managing the bus business in France, and has been sent out to lead its expansion here.

Demand for slow travel

The intercity and regional travel market along Australia’s east coast, and particularly the Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane “golden triangle”, is marked by some of the world’s busiest and most expensive-for-distance travelled air routes.

Meanwhile, coach services between Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane and regional cities are already operated by a range of other bus lines, including Greyhound and Murrays, while interstate and regional train services run by state operators also compete in the space.

Despite the lack of competitiveness on frequency – mostly limited to once or twice a day – and trip duration – a Sydney-Melbourne flight takes 1½ hours compared with 10 to 12 hours by train or coach – there has been growing demand for slower, cheaper travel in recent years.

The Sydney-Melbourne train, run by state operator NSW TrainLink, routinely sells out during the summer period, even when adding extra carriages.

Lefranc-Morin believes these trends show a hunger for an alternative to expensive air travel, especially among families as well as budget-minded younger Australians and tourists.

While he acknowledges FlixBus trips in Australia will be very long, he is confident they will stand out by entering the Australian market with clean, modern and more comfortable buses with features such as Wi-Fi, charging capabilities and a toilet standard on all buses.

“This type of travel is very appealing for families who have pressure on their budgets and for seniors with a lot of time who love slow travel.

“We also think we can attract the Australians that are just a bit bored [with] paying a high price to airlines or who don’t want to take their cars on a long trip,” he said.

Standardised consistent vehicles – which will include seat layouts more comfortable than the company’s European buses due to the greater distances on routes in Australia – will set FlixBus apart as a more luxe offering in a coach scene that is not known for its glamour, Lefranc-Morin said.

“[We will have] the most modern fleet of buses on Australian roads that you can find,” he said.

When factoring in airport transfers and costs, as well as time spent in security and waiting, FlixBus believes it can appeal to more Australians, especially those living away from major airports. Services will make some suburban stops – Sydney tickets will offer drop off and pick up in the northern suburb of Berowra, for example – while stops between destinations will service regional Australians.

“We will have more options, in terms of locations, in terms of stops,” Lefranc-Morin said. “We also want a different travel experience. The product itself is different, very fresh and modern coach travel, with more options.”

Seat layouts will be “designed with the utmost comfort”, he said.

Asset-light business model

Flix has become a giant in global transport over the past decade. It acquired Greyhound in the United States, and has also grown into train services, for now just in Germany. Flix is backed by a range of private equity investors.

In 2024, Swedish private equity group EQT together with Kühne Holding, the Swiss investment vehicle of Germany’s richest man Klaus-Michael Kühne, acquired a 35 per cent stake in Flix. Car maker Porsche also holds a stake in the company, which has been valued at about $US3 billion ($4.6 billion).

In line with its proven asset-light business model, FlixBus will partner with local Australian bus companies that will provide services with vehicles that meet Flix’s feature requirements and design.

The business model allows Flix, which describes itself as a hybrid tech and transport company, to focus on marketing and commercial management, including its ticket-selling app and booking platform, which Lefranc-Morin believes will impress Australians with its ease of use.

“You can book a Flix ticket in two to three clicks, in about 30 seconds. You can then track the bus as you are waiting for it,” he said.

At this stage, the company is coy on specifics. Flix will aim to be “the most competitive option”; for context, Greyhound’s Sydney-Melbourne tickets start at $129 while the train starts at $83.

In terms of frequency, it will initially be similar to that of existing coach operators. “We are not going to start with 10 frequencies a day between Melbourne and Sydney, but it might be our ultimate goal. In a lot of markets, we start with one or two services a day.”

It’s an approach that has seen successful expansion to the United States, Canada, India and Brazil in recent years. “When Flix enters a market, the overall demand for coach travel increases,” Lefranc-Morin said. “We are optimistic we can grow the market [in Australia].”

Sustainability is also another way for FlixBus to stand out, Lefranc-Morin said. The average coach trip between Sydney and Melbourne has an emissions footprint of about 17 kilograms of CO₂ per person – far less than the 76 kilograms per train rider, 105 kilograms per car passenger and 185 kilograms per air traveller, according to Grattan Institute research.

“We see this trend already becoming a big thing in the other Western countries we operate in. We have more customers taking the coach because it’s the sustainable option,” he said.

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