Qantas is shifting into high gear as the aviation industry continues to recover, announcing a major boost to its international network starting from late October 2023.

In response to strong travel demand, Qantas is increasing its capacity by adding approximately one million seats to its international network over the next year. These additional seats will offer travellers more options to popular destinations across Asia, the United States, and the Pacific.

A combo of strategies are in play to achieve this: more Qantas aircraft returning to service, new aircraft joining the fleet, and an arrangement with oneworld partner Finnair to operate two Airbus A330s on two Qantas routes.

This network expansion is a huge stride forward from the 44% of pre-COVID levels just 12 months ago. By March 2024, Qantas aims to reach about 100% of its pre-COVID international capacity, up from today’s 84%.

Much of the announced increase in flights will be handled by the 2,400 pilots and cabin crew Qantas has hired since borders reopened. To meet the expected surge in demand, the airline plans to recruit another 300 people by year’s end.

Over the past six months, Qantas has reactivated five international aircraft – some from long-term storage, and others that were held in reserve as the industry stabilised. May saw a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner joining the fleet, with two more expected next month.

Meanwhile, the latest Qantas A380 was dusted off and reactivated in January, with an additional A380 returning to service at the year’s end after undergoing maintenance and cabin modifications.

Notably, Qantas will be resuming flights to San Francisco next week and launching its first-ever service from Sydney to New York via Auckland the following month. Seasonal services to Rome and flights between Melbourne and Hong Kong are slated to return in June.

Route upgrades

Qantas will boost flying on the following routes from 29 October 2023:

• Melbourne – Los Angeles: Flights will increase from daily to nine per week, bumping capacity by around 60 per cent, primarily through more A380 flights.
• Sydney – New York via Auckland: Flight frequency will increase from three to four per week.
• Australia to Tokyo: Flights will double from 14 to 28 per week, offering the choice of four daily flights to Japan from 26 November.
  • Sydney – Tokyo will increase from daily to double daily.
  • Melbourne – Tokyo will increase from four per week to daily.
  • Brisbane – Tokyo will increase from three per week to daily.
  • Melbourne and Brisbane services to Tokyo will shift to Narita Airport.
• Sydney – Shanghai: Daily A330 flights will be introduced for the first time in more than three years.
• Sydney – Hong Kong: Capacity will increase by over 50% for the peak Australian summer season, with daily flights being operated by a mix of A380 and A330 aircraft.
• Melbourne – Hong Kong: Flights will increase from four per week to daily.
• Melbourne – Singapore: Flights will increase from 10 to 14 per week starting from 31 March 2024.
• Sydney – Singapore: Flights will increase from 14 to 15 per week starting from 31 March 2024.
• Melbourne – Delhi: Flights will increase from three to six per week over the peak Australian summer season.
• Brisbane – Wellington: This is a new daily route, to be operated with E190 aircraft.
• Brisbane – Honiara, Solomon Islands: This new route will operate three days per week with E190 aircraft.
• Sydney – Christchurch: Flights will increase from 11 to 14 per week.
• Sydney – Queenstown: Flights will increase by up to one per week, with up to 14 flights over the peak Australian summer season.

For those eager to get booking, tickets for the new services are progressively available starting from today, either directly at qantas.com or through travel agents.

Customers who have bookings impacted by schedule changes will be contacted directly soon.

Finnair partnership

As part of the arrangement with Finnair, Qantas will be leveraging two Finnair A330 aircraft for flights between Sydney and Singapore starting late October, and for all flights between Sydney and Bangkok from late March 2024.

This move will allow Qantas to free up its own aircraft and crew to bolster services elsewhere.

For the first two-and-a-half years of this agreement, the flights will be operated by Finnair pilots and cabin crew. However, you’ll still get to enjoy Qantas’ inflight food and beverage service, amenities, inflight entertainment, and baggage allowance.

From late 2025, the plan is to dry lease these two Finnair A330s, meaning they’ll operate for up to three years with Qantas pilots and cabin crew. This not only creates new jobs but also opens up more promotional opportunities within Qantas, boosting their capacity even further.

Reward seats

The question all Qantas Points holders want to know is whether this will result in more reward seats being available.

Usually, when Qantas puts new flights into the schedule, it includes reward seats.

So, get your suitcases dusted off and start planning your next adventure – but you’ll need to keep a close eye on Qantas’ website and snap up the seats as soon as they are released.

Safe travels!

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Qantas is letting economy passengers pay to have an empty seat next to them on select domestic flights – something that makes flying in economy a lot more pleasant.

Under the program, called Neighbour Free, an empty seat can be purchased between 48 hours and one hour before departure via an email invitation received from Qantas.

Qantas launched a trial of the program on a small number of routes last September and is now expanding it.

The cost is between $30 and $65 depending on the route. The current routes are:

• Adelaide-Brisbane
• Adelaide-Darwin
• Adelaide-Melbourne
• Adelaide-Perth
• Adelaide-Sydney
• Brisbane-Darwin
• Brisbane-Perth
• Darwin-Melbourne
• Darwin-Sydney
• Melbourne-Gold Coast
• Perth-Darwin
• Perth-Melbourne
• Perth-Sydney
• Sydney-Gold Coast

Of course, the ability to purchase an empty seat is limited and requires an aircraft to be undersold.

Still, it’s a win-win for both passengers and the airline.

Until now, Qantas was known to give top-tier frequent flyers a complimentary empty seat next to them. Whether this will continue is unclear.

The only way to purchase a Neighbour Free seat is upon receiving an email invitation from Qantas.

According to the T&Cs on Qantas’ website, Neighbour Free cannot be guaranteed even if you’ve paid, as seats may need to be changed for operational, safety or security reasons, even after boarding the aircraft (in which case you’d get a refund).

Additional Qantas Points and Status Credits will not be earned on Neighbour Free reservations.

This is an interesting program from Qantas and we’ll be watching to see if it’s expanded even further in the months ahead.

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Imagine this: You have a business meeting in London tonight, but you’re currently in Sydney. No problem! Just hop on a suborbital flight, and you’ll be in Britain in a mere two hours.

No, this isn’t a plot from a futuristic sci-fi movie. Rather, it’s a very real prospect that could revolutionise travel.

Flying from Sydney to London currently takes a grueling 22 hours on a commercial plane. However, the aviation industry is working on ambitious plans to slash this travel time by more than 90%, as reported by The Times.

How, you ask? By taking a detour through space!

Suborbital flights could make this travel dream a reality, according to a study conducted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Most people can withstand the G-forces of suborbital space flights. This research, published in the Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance journal, indicates that while there may be some physiological responses, the human body can generally tolerate the stressors of space travel.

Dr. Ryan Anderton, CAA’s medical lead for space flight, suggests that suborbital flights could be a reality “a lot sooner than people think… certainly less than 10 years”.

This prediction aligns with the current boom in space tourism, where both suborbital and orbital flights are becoming increasingly prevalent.

But let’s break this down: what exactly is a suborbital flight?

In simple terms, suborbital flights enter space but do not stay there long enough to orbit the Earth.

At the moment, suborbital flights, like those offered by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, come with a hefty price tag of more than £350,000 per seat. But industry experts predict that the costs will decrease as the technology matures, making it an accessible intercontinental travel option for more people.

So, how would these flights operate? Passengers would board a suborbital craft, similar to Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser or Virgin Galactic’s VSS Imagine, at a specially adapted launch site.

After experiencing G-forces four times the force of the Earth’s gravity, the vehicle would enter a period of microgravity.

As the journey concludes, G-forces would peak at six times during the descent for around 10 to 15 seconds.

It’s worth noting, though, that this isn’t a casual stroll in the park. Researchers found that subjects experienced changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiac output when exposed to space launch-style G-forces.

While the prospect of space commuting is incredibly exciting, it’s important to remember that it’s still in the early stages of development. There are still many regulatory and safety hurdles to overcome, and it’s unclear how much these flights will cost once commercialised.

But the vision is clear: a world where hopping from London to Sydney in a couple of hours is as normal as catching a train to work.

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Air New Zealand has revealed more details about its revolutionary new Skynest sleep pods – the world’s first bunk beds in the sky.

This innovative new product will give economy and premium economy passengers a chance to get some much needed shut-eye on ultra long-haul flights.

Passengers will be able to book a ‘bunk bed’ style pod for four hours as an add-on to their existing ticket.

The airline hasn’t finalised the price, but it’s likely to be between $400 and $600.

Launching in September 2024, the sleep pods will initially appear on the Auckland-New York and Auckland-Chicago routes.

The airline’s Chief Customer and Sales Officer, Leanne Geraghty, says that “North America is the perfect market for Skynest, as it has a premium segment that values comfort and sleep during long-haul travel.”

Each passenger will be limited to one session, with families travelling on the same ticket able to book a session for each person, depending on availability. 

There will be six pods measuring at around 203 cm long and 58cm wide.

They’ll be located between the economy and premium economy cabins.

Each pod will come with a mattress, pillow, sheets and blanket, as well as curtains for privacy.

Bedding will be changed for each customer, of course.

Passengers will also have access to ear plugs, a reading light and a USB outlet.

If the aircraft encounters turbulence, there’ll be a seatbelt in each pod for safety.

Air New Zealand says a four-hour session will be enough to enjoy two sleep cycles.

The lights will slowly come on at the end of each session to wake up passengers, with a gentle poke from the crew for anyone who sleeps through this.

As frequent flyers know, this isn’t the first time Air New Zealand has tried to innovate in the economy space. The airline will continue to offer its Skycouch product, which lets solo or multiple travellers book an entire row, with extendable seats and padding providing extra comfort.

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