Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to be better linked to US, Africa and Asia thanks to new flight services

The next few months should deliver a traveller’s version of an early Christmas, with 12 new or relaunched routes coming to four Australian cities, and newer jets being allocated to other established routes.

Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth will be better connected to the US, Africa and Asia, while Sydney gets some aircraft upgrades.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Rex saved as international routes are opened up.

Brisbane:

• American Airlines is launching Brisbane – Los Angeles in December and

relaunching Brisbane - Dallas in October

• Delta Airlines is relaunching Brisbane – Los Angeles in November

• Malaysia Airlines is launching Brisbane – Kuala Lumpur in November

• Jetstar is launching Brisbane - Cebu, Philippines in December

Melbourne:

• Delta Airlines is launching Melbourne – Los Angeles in December

• Hong Kong Airlines is launching Melbourne – Hong Kong in December

• Shenzhen Airlines is launching Melbourne – Shenzhen in December

Adelaide:

• United Airlines is launching Adelaide – San Francisco in December

• Qantas is launching Adelaide – Auckland in October

Perth:

• Qantas is launching Perth – Johannesburg in December

• Qantas is launching Perth – Auckland in December

• Jetstar is launching Perth – Manila in November

Virgin’s lease agreement with Qatar Airways also comes to Melbourne from December 1, adding an extra daily service to the other VA/QR services already flying out of Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

Flight Centre’s James Kavanagh says it is a great time to get a deal.

“I think it’s very exciting for Australian travellers because a lot more seats equals more competition and that means prices come down,” Kavanagh said

The new additions also open up frequent flyer earn and redemption options.

Savvy travellers

Adele Eliseo is an expert at finding frequent flyer reward seats through her website The Champagne Mile.

“Savvy travellers can potentially find reward seats from Manila into Europe or other destinations that perhaps are not so easy to get direct from Australia,” she explained to 7NEWS.

These so-called “re-positioning” flights are becoming a popular option in Asia where airfares to Europe or the USA are often cheaper than from Australia, and rewards seats are more readily available particularly through Qantas and Virgin partners.

“We will be watching Qantas (Frequent Flyer) and (Virgin Australia) Velocity to see whether there are some new seats available on these routes,” Eliseo said.

There could be deals, too.

“Whenever a new route launches we see lead-in prices that are really competitive so it’s a good time for Aussies,” Kavanagh said.

Qantas is moving a few things around, most notably its popular Airbus A220 aircraft.

It will soon appear on Melbourne to Hamilton Island and Melbourne to Alice Springs, and Brisbane to Hamilton Island.

Some Sydney - Canberra services will also benefit from the quieter, more fuel efficient jet which internal surveys show is the most preferred aircraft among Qantas customers.

QantasLink’s chief executive Rachel Yangoyan says more of the jets are being delivered soon.

“It’s a really exciting time for QantasLink,” she told 7NEWS.

“We have our eighth A220 arriving next week and a further three to come before the end of the year.”

Yangoyan says the Qantas fleet is not experiencing the same Pratt & Whitney engine issues some A220 operators are fighting.

Figures reported overseas suggest up to 22 per cent of some A220 fleets are grounded by wear and tear problems that are proving far greater than expected.

“We have sufficient spare engines on board to make sure that if there are any issues that won’t be impacting us,” Yangoyan said.