Qantas to Add 1 Million Seats on International Network Starting Oct. 29

Qantas has announced plans to add about 1 million seats to its international network over the next 12 months, compared to its current schedule. The move comes as the airline restores more planes to service, adds new aircraft, and enters into a leasing agreement with Finnair to operate two Airbus A330 aircraft on two Qantas routes.

Restoring Pre-COVID Levels of Capacity

According to Qantas, the network changes will bring its capacity back to 100 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels by March 2024, up from 84 percent currently and 44 percent a year ago. This is a significant step forward for the airline, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

New Routes and Increased Frequency

The announcement coincides with the resumption of Qantas flights to San Francisco this week and the launch of service from Sydney to New York via Auckland in June. In addition, the carrier will resume seasonal service to Rome and flights between Melbourne and Hong Kong.

Starting in October, Qantas will increase the Melbourne-Los Angeles frequency to nine times per week from daily and increase the new Sydney-New York via Auckland service to four from three times per week.

Expanded Service to Japan, Hong Kong, and China

Qantas is also expanding service to Japan, with the Sydney-Tokyo route doubling to twice daily. Melbourne-Tokyo will increase to daily from four times weekly, and Brisbane-Tokyo will increase to daily from three times weekly. These two routes will move to Narita International Airport.

For Hong Kong and China, daily Sydney-Shanghai flights will resume for the first time in more than three years, using Airbus A330 aircraft. Capacity on Sydney-Hong Kong flights will increase by more than 50 percent for the peak Australian summer season, with daily flights to be operated by a mix of Airbus A380 and A330 aircraft. Melbourne-Hong Kong routes will increase to daily from four per week.

Melbourne-Singapore Route to Operate Twice Daily

Starting from March 31, 2024, the Melbourne-Singapore route will operate twice daily from 10 times per week, and the Sydney-Singapore route will operate 15 times per week, up one from 14. Melbourne-Delhi flights will increase to six times per week from three over the peak Australian summer season.

Using COVID-19 Credits to Book Flights

Customers can use their COVID-19 credits when booking Qantas flights, and the airline has extended the travel expiration date for these credits to Dec. 19, 2024, provided they book by Dec. 31, 2023. Customers can make advanced bookings for up to 353 days.