Qantas has announced it will launch a new route to Palau and deploy its new Airbus A220 aircraft on its first international route to Singapore.
Qantas has announced it will launch a new route to Palau and deploy its new Airbus A220 aircraft on its first international route to Singapore.
The Australian national carrier announced the addition of Palau to its network with a new weekly service from Brisbane to the Pacific island nation. Using Boeing 737 aircraft, the service – called the “Palau Paradise Express” will operate as part of a contract awarded to Qantas by Australia's Federal Government to maintain strong trade and tourism links between Australia and Palau.
According to Qantas, the route is expected to start in the coming months, and flights will go on sale within the next few weeks.
Qantas also announced the planned international debut of its A220 aircraft will be when it starts its new Darwin-Singapore route in March 2025. Originally scheduled to launch with Embraer E190 aircraft, the A220 – which provides a larger capacity of 137 seats – will be used on the route which will operate five-times weekly.
More Capacity to the US, Changes to Sydney-Seoul Flights
With the return of more Airbus A380 aircraft from next August, Qantas reports it will boost capacity to the US by 13% - including 30% more premium seats for customers on long-haul flights. Qantas plans to operate a mix of A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliners on its Brisbane-Los Angeles, and Sydney-Dallas routes.
Qantas also stated with the return of its 787s to Brisbane, the airline plans to introduce the aircraft on the Brisbane-Auckland route for the first time on August 11, 2025.
Following its suspension in April, Qantas will also resume services between Brisbane and Noumea from December 14 using Embraer E190 aircraft.
Meanwhile, Qantas will suspend its flights between Sydney and Seoul from mid-January 2025. Qantas Group budget subsidiary Jetstar will continue to operate flights on the route, with a service increase from four weekly flights to daily.
“We’re so excited to be offering our customers more than 220,000 additional seats on our network, a new international destination, and our brand-new A220 aircraft for our Singapore – Darwin flights, which will be the first of its kind to operate out of Singapore,” said Cam Wallace, CEO, Qantas Group International. “We’re also looking forward to seeing more of our A380s return to the skies and offering more premium seats for customers to book to some of our popular international destinations.
Regarding the adjustment of its Sydney-Seoul service, Wallace said: “Qantas launched flights to Seoul after the pandemic, and now that demand has normalised, it’s grown substantially as a leisure market, opening up a great opportunity for Jetstar to increase its frequencies and allow Qantas to redeploy its aircraft to other routes where we are seeing strong demand.”
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