Qantas boosts international routes

Qantas has unveiled a series of changes to its international network in Asia, the US and New Zealand.

Continuing the recent revamp of its operations in Hong Kong, Qantas will add one more weekly Airbus A380 service to the city from 4 November 2013, taking the total number of A380 flights on the Hong Kong-Sydney route to five per week.

“The Qantas Group is serious about Asia and we’ve already increased capacity to Hong Kong by 10% this year. As well as adding almost 5% more seats per week on this route, the aircraft swap will increase the amount of flying done by our flagship A380 fleet into Asia,” said the Qantas Group’s CEO, Alan Joyce.

Following this deployment, on 2 December 2013 Qantas will increase the frequency of its Brisbane-Los Angeles route from six flights per week to daily, using the Boeing 747-400 aircraft made available by the upgrade of the Hong Kong route.

And the airline will also boost its trans-Tasman services, following the recent approval of its joint venture with Emirates from authorities in New Zealand. This will include the launch of a brand new route, Perth-Auckland, which will be operated twice a week using an A330 aircraft between 6 December 2013 and 1 February 2014. The existing Sydney-Christchurch service meanwhile, will be re-timed so it connects with more international services from Sydney.

Joyce said these changes were made possible by the transformation of the airline’s international division, following the alliance with Emirates.

“We’re able to make these changes by simply using our existing assets better. For instance, the new seasonal Perth to Auckland service uses an A330 that would otherwise be on the ground over the weekend,” Joyce said.

“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,” he added.