Qantas unveils new Asia approach

Qantas unveils new Asia approach
By admin


Qantas will axe its Adelaide-Singapore and Perth-Hong Kong services under a new plan to restructure its Asian network from March 31, the start date of its proposed tie-up with Emirates.

Perth-Hong Kong will cease on March 31 while Adelaide-Singapore will end on April 14.

From April 15, the carrier will also reduce its Perth-Singapore service to once daily, while increasing its Brisbane-Hong Kong service from four times weekly to five from May 6, further upping it to daily from June 24. It will also add four new Sydney-Singapore flights from March 31, to rise to daily from June 24.

As a result of the changes, Hong Kong capacity on the Qantas network will increase by 10%, while that to Singapore will grow 40%. Flights into both hubs and Bangkok will be brought forward with the earlier arrival times to increase the number of onward connections.

Chief executive of Qantas International, Simon Hickey, said Asia remains a "key pillar" of its strategy.

"Our first step has been to restructure existing services to Asia now that they are no longer tied to onward links to Europe," he said. "The number of dedicated seats on Qantas services to Hong Kong and Singapore is increasing significantly, because capacity previously set aside for customers going to Europe via these hubs can be freed up."

Hickey highlighted the joint Qantas-Emirates network into Asia as offfering Qantas customers "a fresh set of options" including double daily services to Singapore from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and access to onward destinations in Jetstar's "maturing network".

The next part of the four phase plan will see the airline enhance its customer experience with improvements to cabin, in-flight entertainment and lounges. The third phase will see it attempt to expand its network within Asia through local partners such as Japan Airlines, China Eastern, Jet Airways, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines.

Finally, it will investigate increasing the number of Asian destinations served by its Boeing 787-9 options from 2016, which it believes will coincide with the "turnaround of Qantas International". Destinations under consideration include Beijing, Seoul, Mumbai, Delhi and Tokyo-Haneda.

Meanwhile, the airline also confirmed it will bring forward the end date of its "loss-making" Frankfurt services by six months to April 15.

Latest News

  • Aviation

Low-cost Indian carrier SpiceJet continues to burn cash

It’s not just low-cost Australian carriers that are facing hardship. SpiceJet, India’s version of Bonza, recently announced a 72 per cent reduction in its net loss versus last year. But, despite this improvement, the airline has posted losses for six straight years. But it has secured board approval to raise up to INR 30 billion […]

  • Attractions

SAKA Museum recognised in TIME magazine’s World’s Greatest Places 2024

AYANA Resort Bali’s newly-opened cultural and events centre, SAKA Museum has been recognised in TIME magazine’s World’s Greatest Places list for 2024. Part of AYANA Bali’s resort destination, the museum integrates Bali’s rich history with state-of-the-art facilities, making it the centrepiece for the island’s spiritual and cultural heritage. TIME magazine’s inclusion of SAKA Museum in […]

  • Cruise

Silversea taps Barbara Biffi as senior vice president for global sales

Ultra-luxury and expedition cruise travel brand, Silverseas, has announced Barbara Biffi as its new senior vice president of global sales. Biffi joined the company in 2007, holding numerous positions and gaining a deep understanding of the brand, the preferences of its guests and its strategic goals, the company said. An Italian national with a wealth […]

  • Technology
  • Travel Agents

Amadeus welcomes FCM Travel as new reseller partner of Cytric Easy

Cytric Easy, the travel management tool embedded in Microsoft Teams, is to be integrated into FCM Travel portfolio. Amadeus and FCM Travel have extended their Cytric distribution agreement to include Cytric Easy. With this new agreement, global travel management company FCM Travel, becomes a reseller of the innovative travel management collaboration solution embedded into Microsoft […]