This month, Qantas and Jetstar have declared that they would reach 40% of their combined pre-COVID international capacity.
The company has now carried about 500,000 people across 27 routes, and its numbers are expected to skyrocket next week when the border between Australia and New Zealand opens to Australians.
London, Rome, Los Angeles, Singapore, Nadi (Fiji), Vancouver, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Dallas Fort Worth, Auckland, Honolulu (Hawaii), Manila, and Dili are currently all served by Qantas.
Jetstar has recently relaunched a limited-service between Bali and Phuket (Thailand).
The company’s stronger-than-expected foreign recovery comes as it seeks to reclaim 110 percent of its pre-pandemic domestic market share by Easter.
Qantas broke the announcement on Friday, announcing that starting September 14, it will run four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru, India’s innovation powerhouse.
It occurred a week after Australia struck a landmark trade agreement with India, which the Australian government says will quadruple trade between the two countries in five years.
Six Bell 407GXI and One Bell 429 sold in Australia and New Zealand for 1Q22
“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,” said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
“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.”
Later this year, both Qantas and Jetstar will begin direct flights to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport.
From November 2, Jetstar will fly three times a week to South Korea with its 787-8s, while Qantas will resume service with its A330s on December 10.
“South Korea is Australia’s fourth-largest trading partner, and Koreans see Sydney as one of the top tourism destinations,” said Joyce. “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.”
The announcement comes as Qantas prepares to launch six more routes next week, after launching six new overseas lines in the previous six months.
