The Qantas Group is making up for lost time, with the airline adding new routes to its network to Bengaluru and Seoul from Sydney.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 taking off – Image, Qantas
Sydney to Bengaluru
Qantas will operate four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru from 14th September, using an Airbus A330 aircraft. The move represents the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline, which will cut up to three hours in transit time (and thus journey time).
Qantas will continue to operate up to five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi, making it the only airline offering direct flights between Australia and both northern and southern India.
Codeshares within India
For those of you who need to wander beyond the traditional hubs in India, Qantas intends to enter into a codeshare agreement with IndiGo, which will give access via one-stop to more than 50 Indian cities.
The proposed agreement will mean Qantas passengers can transit seamlessly from Qantas flights in Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore onto IndiGo services to other major Indian cities as well as smaller ones such as Pune and Goa.
Under the planned agreement, Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage.
Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks.
The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com from late April.
Back to Seoul
Both arms of Qantas – Qantas and Jetstar – will both launch direct flights to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport later this year.
Jetstar’s launch will be on the 2nd November 2022, operating three times weekly from Sydney with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. Meanwhile, Qantas will start its operations on 10 December 2022 with its A330 aircraft, marking the first Qantas scheduled service to Seoul since January 2008.
In Quotes
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the new routes would help the State’s tourism sector recover from COVID.
“Sydney is one of the world’s truly global cities and these new direct flights to India and Korea will make it easier for millions of people to come here.
“It’s clear that Australia is back on the map for international travellers. Demand for our international flights has rebounded since borders reopened, and that’s giving us the confidence to launch these new routes together with the marketing support from Destination New South Wales.
“The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement is a driver of travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people.
“Our new direct flights to Bengaluru, combined with the planned codeshare with IndiGo, have the potential to reshape the way many people travel between Australia and India.
“South Korea is Australia’s fourth largest trading partner and Koreans see Sydney as one of the top tourism destinations. With expected strong business, premium leisure and low-cost travel demand on the route, we see an opportunity for both Qantas and Jetstar to fly on the route.”
Slowly rebuilding… with a little help.
With Australia’s borders reopening in November, Qantas Group has carried almost 500,000 passengers on its international services across 27 international routes.
The airline is planning further growth across the network, with new routes popping up from Melbourne and Perth.
The three new routes aren’t being launched out of the goodness of Qantas Group’s heart, however – these are all being supported by the NSW Aviation Attraction Fund, which is co-funded by the State Government and Sydney Airport. Kempegowda International Airport has also supported Qantas’ Sydney-Bengaluru flights.
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