Qantas to launch new route as part of major changes to international network

It’s out with the old and in with a brand new Pacific “paradise” for Qantas, with the national carrier unveiling major changes to its international flight network on Wednesday.

For the first time, Qantas will soon fly in and out of Palau as part of its plan to add 220,000 seats to its international network by February 2025.

Qantas will operate weekly flights from Brisbane, known as the Palau Paradise Express, as part of a contract awarded by the Federal Government to help maintain strong trade and tourism links between Australia and the Pacific Island.

Palau, a western Pacific archipelago of about 300 islands, has a reputation for being a haven for nature enthusiasts. Its pristine waters are billed as the perfect playground for diving.

Travellers could previously fly from Brisbane to Palau on flights operated by Nauru Airlines but will now be able to fly weekly via Qantas’ B737 aircraft. Tickets are expected to go on sale in the next few weeks.

Qantas will also resume its Brisbane-Noumea route from December 14 after flights to the New Caledonian capital were temporarily suspended in April.

Flights will be twice-weekly.

Sydney-Seoul route axed

Although it has expanded its Pacific links, Qantas also announced it would axe its popular Sydney-Seoul route from June 14, 2025.

Budget carrier Jetstar will pick up the slack and increase flights to the South Korean capital in its stead. The change — increasing flights to daily (up from four per week) and the number of seats by four per cent — will make Jetstar the largest carrier between Australia and South Korea.

Qantas Group international chief executive Cam Wallace said the change was a benefit of Jetstar operating under its wing.

“One of the benefits of our dual brand strategy is the flexibility we have with our combined Qantas and Jetstar fleets,” he 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.”

Customers who are already booked on flights with schedule changes will be contacted in the coming days, Qantas said.

Boost to Darwin-Singapore route

While the Darwin-Singapore route is not new to Qantas’ network, the airline announced its new QantasLink A220 aircraft will fly internationally on the route for the first time from March 30 next year.

The route was due to launch with the Embraer E190 aircraft in December, but the larger, 173-seat QantasLink A220s will take off five times each week instead. The planes offer 50 additional seats on the route each week and over 70,000 seats each year.

Qantas’ A220 aircraft currently operate domestically and 29 of these jets are due to steadily replace the current QantasLink fleet of Boeing 717s in the company’s fleet renewal program.

Qantas said the jets have almost double the range of the 717s and can open opportunities for new short-haul international routes.

“As part of our historic fleet renewal program, these changes are about having the right aircraft on the right route and responding to growing customer demand,” Mr Wallace said.

He said the A220s’ Darwin-Singapore flights would be the “first of its kind to operate out of Singapore.”

More flights (and seats) to the United States.

Qantas is also boosting its capacity on US-bound flights by 13 per cent from August 11 next year with the return of two Airbus A380s and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the international fleet.

Premium seat capacity for flights between Brisbane and Los Angeles will more than double from that day, with daily flights to be operated by a mix of A30 and 787 aircraft.

Meanwhile, the A380 will resume the Sydney-Dallas route for the first time since before COVID, with daily flights to be operated by a mix of A380 and 787 aircraft.

Qantas is also increasing its Melbourne-Dallas route from three to four per week from February 6, but it is decreasing its Sydney-New York (via Auckland) route from six flights to five per week.