Hello, travel enthusiasts! It’s time to dust off your passports because Qantas is speeding up the revival of its international flights.
In response to the Federal Government’s announcement of reopening Australia’s borders in November, Qantas has decided to advance its schedule, kicking off international flights from the 14th of November 2021. It’s like Christmas is coming early for us!
The airline has planned to operate three weekly return flights between Sydney and London and another three between Sydney and Los Angeles. They’ll be deploying their Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for these routes – some of the most searched on Qantas’ website in the past few weeks.
And the best part? They’re all set to ramp up the number of flights to match demand, if necessary.
If you’re an Aussie citizen, a permanent resident, or a visa holder (and of course, their families), you can now book your tickets. Fares for the Sydney-Los Angeles route are starting from a reasonable $1662 return, and for Sydney-London, it’s $1869 return.
Here’s a fun tidbit for all the frequent flyers out there. All flights on both of these routes for the initial week will be ‘Points Planes’. This means you can take advantage of uncapped Classic Flight Reward seats across all cabins. And for those who prefer the traditional way, these seats are also available as regular flight bookings.
You can fly SYD-LAX return for 83,800 points in economy, 162,600 in premium economy or 216,000 in business class, plus taxes and fees. For SYD-LHR return you need 110,400 points in economy, 216,800 in premium economy or 289,200 in business class, plus taxes and fees.
Now, there’s a bit of a caveat here. The exact date of Australia’s international borders reopening in November is yet to be announced by the Federal Government. Depending on that, the commencement dates for these two routes might need a slight adjustment. But don’t worry, Qantas has you covered. If flights need to be rescheduled, customers can make ‘fee-free’ date changes for travel until the end of 2022 (though a fare difference might apply). And if flights get cancelled, there’s the possibility of a refund or a credit voucher.
Points bookings will be fully refundable.
For those wondering about safety protocols, all passengers on Qantas’ international flights are required to be fully vaccinated with a TGA-approved or recognised vaccine (some exemptions apply). You’ll also need to present a negative PCR COVID test taken within 72 hours before departure.
Upon arriving in Australia, you’ll need to home quarantine for seven days, as per the Federal and New South Wales governments’ guidelines.
The other international routes scheduled to resume from the 18th of December 2021 will continue as planned. However, Qantas is prepared to add extra routes if other states and territories decide to open their borders earlier and bring down quarantine requirements to seven days at home, or even less.
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