Qantas has launched four new domestic routes, including Adelaide-Newcastle, Brisbane-Wagga Wagga, Darwin-Townsville and Darwin-Cairns. The carrier is also launching new service between Melbourne and Dallas/Fort Worth and doubling flights to Los Angeles.
On Monday (March 28, 2022), Qantas announced the launch of four new domestic routes including flights between Adelaide and Newcastle, Brisbane and Wagga Wagga, and from Darwin to both Townsville and Cairns. The additional routes follow new service between Sydney and Uluru (Ayers Rock Airport) which launched on Sunday, March 27th. The carrier will offer three weekly return flights on the Darwin-Townsville, Brisbane-Wagga and Adelaide-Newcastle routes, while the service between Darwin and Cairns will operate four times weekly. The airline has also resumed flights between Sydney and Toowoomba with double-daily weekday flights and daily weekend flights. Qantas has added 52 domestic routes since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In Monday’s announcment, QantasLink’s CEO, John Gissing, said,
“Qantas has a tremendous history of connecting people and economies across Australia. What we’ve seen over the past two years, is that what started as a way of meeting pent-up demand for Aussies to travel where they could, is being sustained as visitors discover new destinations and as business links flourish. Not only have we seen a huge surge in demand for domestic tourism, but we have a seen a real shift towards investment in our regional communities as economic and industrial hubs.”
In a separate press release on Monday (March 28, 2022), Qantas announced that they will launch new service between Melbourne and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) from December 2, 2022. The route will operate four times weekly with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Inbound travelers to DFW will also enjoy seamless onward connections via Qantas’ partner American Airlines to over 200 cities across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South America. Additionally, Qantas is adding another four weekly Boeing 787 return flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles, doubling the four flights currently on offer. The carrier will also operate some of the flights to LA with refurbished Airbus A380s from December, marking the return of the superjumbo and reintroduction of First Class to Melbourne.
Commenting on the new service to Dallas/Fort Worth from Melbourne, Qantas’ Chief Customer Officer, Stephanie Tully, said,
“No city in the world did it tougher during COVID than Melbourne, but no city is bouncing back as quickly. We are seeing really strong demand from Melburnians wanting to travel overseas for a holiday or business trip after two years at home, while inbound tourism is starting to pick up. Flights to the United States are particularly strong with Los Angeles bookings now exceeding pre-COVID levels.
“As well as being a destination in its own right, Dallas Fort Worth is one of the biggest hub airports in the United States and is located less than a four-hour flight from every major US city. These new flights provide excellent connections for Australians visiting the United States and allow Melbourne to tap into an enormous inbound tourism market from cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Washington DC, and Miami, as well as saving hours of travel time. We know large numbers of customers have been travelling between Melbourne and Dallas Fort Worth via our existing Sydney service, which gives us great confidence about how this route will perform when flights start.
“Our customers in Melbourne have told us they have really missed the Qantas A380, so it’s fantastic that they’ll be back flying by the end of the year with our full premium service on these newly refurbished aircraft. We thank the Victorian Government and Melbourne Airport for their support and assisting in the recovery of tourism to Melbourne and the regions.”
The carrier also reopened the Qantas Melbourne International Business Lounge on Monday (March 28th), welcoming the first guests since the start of the pandemic, with customers flying to Delhi. Qantas continues to offer their ‘Fly Flexible’ booking policy with unlimited flight date changes on flights booked before June 30th for travel through December 31, 2022 (a fare difference might apply). Additionally, for the rest of 2022 frequent flyers will enjoy access to up to 50 percent more Classic Flight Reward seats on international routes.
Source: Qantas