December 2, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier
Australian airline Qantas has just made incentive and conference travel between Japan’s capital and Brisbane a lot easier and will add a new direct route between Melbourne and the US, a direct Sydney to Seoul connection and bump up its frequency between Sydney and Queenstown this month.
The restarted Brisbane-Tokyo route has shifted its Japanese port from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport, significantly cutting travel time between the international point of entry and the city.
Beginning yesterday, the route will operate three times a week between the two cities and is being supported by Queensland’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund.
Pre-pandemic Japan was one of Queensland’s top five visitor source markets.
“The new flight from Brisbane into Haneda Airport gives our customers much easier and faster access to downtown Tokyo and one of the world’s most important business markets, saving more than an hour of transit time in getting to the city,” said Qantas regional general manager for Asia John Simeone.
With the route offering over 46,000 seats to Brisbane annually, the Queensland Government estimates the connection could be worth up to $41 million a year to the state.
From tomorrow, Qantas is also starting a new direct service between Melbourne and Dallas Fort Worth in the United States, flying three returns a week.
Sydney is also getting a new route, with Qantas flights between Sydney and Seoul in Korea beginning on December 10 and running four times per week.
The frequency of Qantas flights between Sydney and Queenstown in New Zealand is also going up this month, with the number of return services between the two destinations increasing from 10 to 14 each week from mid-December.
