The Qantas Group has updated the schedules for Qantas and Jetstar in response to reopening plans and the latest border assumptions in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.
On Monday (September 27, 2021) Qantas and Jetstar announced flight schedule updates based on reopening plans and the latest border assumptions in Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia (WA). The Group will advance the reopening of travel between Victoria and NSW from December 1st to November 5th, 2021, and will significantly increase regional flying within NSW from October 25th to around 40 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Domestic flying between Western and Victoria/NSW will be delayed by two months until February 1st, 2022, based on the latest border assumptions. Qantas will continue to operate five weekly return flights from Perth to Sydney and Melbourne.
No change has been announced for Qantas or Jetstar flights between WA, Tasmania, Northern Territory (NT) and South Australia, while flights between WA and Queensland will increase once border restrictions are removed. Internationally, flights are still scheduled to gradually resume from December 18, 2021, with the expectation that Australia will reach the National Cabinet’s ‘Phase C’ vaccination threshold of 80 percent. As previously announced, Qantas will temporarily reroute their flagship Perth-London service until at least April 2022 due to the latest WA border assumptions. The company is currently in discussions with the NT Government and Darwin Airport to assess operating direct flights to Darwin during the interim period. If the route cannot operate via Darwin, Qantas will instead fly Melbourne-Singapore-London until April 2022.
In Monday’s announcement, Qantas Group’s CEO, Alan Joyce, said,
“We’re now planning to ramp up flying between Melbourne and Sydney, which is usually the second busiest air route in the world, almost a month earlier than expected. There are also a lot of regional destinations that will open up for the first time since June, which is great news for tourism as well as family and friends who can’t wait to see each other again. Get ready to see some emotional reunions at airports from late-October onwards.
“Based on our discussions with Western Australia we know their borders won’t be open to New South Wales and Victoria until early next year, so we’ve sadly had to cancel the flying we had planned on those routes in the lead-up to Christmas. We will maintain a minimum service for people with permits to travel, though, as we have throughout the pandemic. At this stage, WA doesn’t intend to open to international travel until sometime next year, so we’ll unfortunately have to temporarily move our Perth-London service until at least April 2022. Instead of operating from Melbourne to Perth and then on to London as it usually does, this flight will operate from Melbourne to London via either Darwin or Singapore, depending on conversations we’re having with the NT in the coming weeks. We look forward to operating this flight via Perth again when circumstances allow.
“We’re in regular discussions with all the states and territories, and will continue to make adjustments, including increasing flying as soon as border settings allow. The pace of the vaccine rollout means we’re still on track for international flying to restart from 18 December onwards. People are clearly keen to travel. We saw a 175 per cent spike in web searches in the week after we announced our plans and we’ve seen strong bookings for December and January for our flights to London, Los Angeles and Singapore in particular.
“The key factor in determining the ongoing demand level for international flying will be what the quarantine arrangements are for Australians when they return. The seven day home quarantine trial in New South Wales is a great step forward and we’re hoping the system evolves quickly for vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries to not have to quarantine on arrival, particularly given Australia itself is on track to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. That’s fast becoming the standard between many countries overseas.
“The reason we’re putting a lot of sale fares in the market as more domestic destinations open up is to help fast track the recovery by stimulating demand and getting our people back to work sooner. Jetstar sold thousands of $20 fares from Melbourne to Sydney, Byron Bay and Newcastle within hours of going on sale this week. This is good news for the tourism industry, which has taken such a huge hit throughout the crisis.”
If Federal or State reopening roadmaps change and flights are canceled, customers may be eligible for a refund, credit voucher or to change their travel dates. All international flights remain subject to Government and Regulatory approvals.
Source: Qantas
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