While there is an overall increase in capacity, some routes are being either cancelled or scaled back under the Qantas brand.
On US flights out of Australia, Melbourne – Dallas flights will increase from three to four each week from February 6 2025, however the Sydney – Auckland – New York route is set to decrease from six to five services per week from the same date.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be added back into the mix of aircraft used to fly the Brisbane – Los Angeles route in August 2025, offering more business class seats and introducing premium economy options.
And the A380 will come back to the Sydney – Dallas route in August 2025, for the first time since the pandemic, with the A380 and the 787 Dreamliner to share the route.
Looking to Asia, the start of direct services between Darwin and Singapore appears to have been pushed back from an early December 2024 start date to late March 2025. And while the size of the aircraft on the route has grown, the frequency of the service has been reduced, resulting in a net gain of six to nine seats per week on the route.
Originally slated to operate five flights a week from December 9, rising to daily in March 2025, on an Embraer 190, the service will now operate on a QantasLink A220 five times a week from March 30, 2025.
Perhaps a slightly larger consolidated frequency might work for conference groups flying into Darwin from Asia or Europe.
Meanwhile Qantas will stop its Sydney to Seoul route next June, with Jetstar to pick up the slack, lifting its services from four flights a week to daily. While this will result in a small gain in the number of seats between the two destinations overall, it could dampen mutual incentive interest between the two destinations, as these groups are less likely to use a budget carrier, especially for a 10-hour flight.
Brisbane – Auckland flights will get a boost In August 2025, with the 787 to be introduced on the route, increasing capacity by 40 per cent each year. Existing 737s and A330s will also continue to service the route.
A new weekly service between Brisbane and the Pacific island of Palau is also expected to be added in the coming months.
“We’re so excited to be offering our customers more than 220,000 additional seats on our network, a new international destination, and our brand-new A220 aircraft for our Singapore – Darwin flights, which will be the first of its kind to operate out of Singapore,” said Qantas Group International CEO, Cam Wallace.
“We’re also looking forward to seeing more of our A380s return to the skies and offering more premium seats for customers to book to some of our popular international destinations.
“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.”
