Qantas today announced a series of improvements to its international network that will deliver new options and more choice for customers traveling to Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Auckland and Christchurch.
The improvements are:
- Starting a new route, Perth–Auckland*, to be offered on a seasonal basis between early December and the end of January, operated by a Qantas A330 aircraft twice per week.
- Upgrading one return Sydney–Hong Kong service to an Airbus A380 aircraft, increasing the number of A380 return services on this route from four to five per week.
- Increasing frequency to daily on Brisbane–Los Angeles* using the aircraft made available by the A380 upgrade on the Hong Kong route.
- Retiming Qantas’ existing Sydney–Christchurch* service so that it connects with more international services from Sydney and complements the existing Emirates service on this route.
(See table at bottom of release for more details.)
Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the changes were made possible through schedule optimisation and ongoing transformation efforts within the airline’s international division.
“We’re able to make these changes by simply using our existing assets better,” said Mr Joyce.
“For instance, the new seasonal Perth to Auckland service uses an A330 that would otherwise be on the ground over the weekend.
“The Qantas Group is serious about Asia and we’ve already increased capacity to Hong Kong by 10 per cent this year. As well as adding almost five per cent more seats per week on this route, the aircraft swap will increase the amount of flying done by our flagship A380 fleet into Asia.
“Our Brisbane to Los Angeles service is a strong performer and upgrading it to daily will improve the travel options for customers heading to the United States from Queensland, which has great links to our domestic and regional networks.
“All of these network changes also boost the prospects for inbound tourism, particularly in an environment where a falling dollar makes Australia an even more attractive destination,” added Mr Joyce.
Today also marks the first day of the new Qantas and Emirates partnership on the trans-Tasman. Starting today, the two airlines have aligned fares and switched on codesharing on around 130 flights a week between Australia and New Zealand. The schedule change on Sydney-Christchurch and the new Perth-Auckland route are in-part enabled through this partnership.
Mr Joyce added: “At the core of turning around Qantas International is making it the best airline for global travellers. These network changes are brought about through smarter use of our assets and our partners to deliver a truly premium experience service for our customers”.
Customers can book the new services from today via qantas.com or through travel agents.
*Subject to regulatory approval
The schedule is being progressively loaded from today for travel after 27 October 2013
| ROUTE | CHANGE | EFFECTIVE DATE | CUSTOMER BENEFIT |
| Perth–Auckland | New route, seasonal. Two return services per week, departing Perth on Friday and Saturday, using a Qantas A330. | First service from Perth will be 6 December 2013. Last service from Auckland will be 1 February 2014. | Adding almost 1,000 seats per week to what is currently a monopoly route over the busy Christmas and summer holiday period. An internationally configured A330 with Skybeds used on the route. |
| Sydney–Hong Kong | Upgrading one return service per week from a B747 to A380. Increases the number of A380 services on this route from four to five per week, with the remainder operated by B747s. | 4 November 2013 | Increase in capacity by almost 5 per cent per week. Additional A380 flying into Asia. |
| Brisbane–Los Angeles | Increase in the number of services on this route from six to seven using a B747. | 2 December 2013 | Additional convenience of a daily service from Brisbane. Increase in capacity on this route by about 15 per cent per week. |
| Sydney–Christchurch | Qantas flight retimed from morning to evening, meaning that the return flight (Christchurch to Sydney) arrives in Sydney at 8:50am instead of 3:55pm. Qantas code available on Emirates flight from Christchurch, which leaves at 4:55pm to arrive in Sydney at 6:15pm. Qantas code also available on Jetstar flight from Christchurch, which leaves at 6.35am to arrive in Sydney at 8.05am. | 27 October 2013 | Greatly improved onward connections for customers flying from Christchurch to Sydney and then to onward international and domestic flights. Removes need for South Island residents to fly via Auckland to connect with key international flights out of Sydney. Complements the existing Emirates service by providing a double daily service scheduled at either end of the day. |