Qantas, Jetstar add direct routes to India, Korea

Qantas and Jetstar will grow their international network out of Sydney, with new direct routes to India and South Korea taking off this year, accelerating New South Wales’ post-COVID tourism recovery. Qantas will operate four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) from 14 September, using its widebody Airbus A330 aircraft. These will be the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline and will cut almost three hours off the current fastest travel time from Sydney to Bengaluru, a growing technology and financial services hub. With a population of 13 million people, the Bengaluru community has strong connections to Australia for both business travel and people visiting friends and relatives. These trade connections are expected to strengthen following the recent announcement of the Australia-India free trade agreement. 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. Qantas intends to enter into a codeshare agreement with IndiGo, India’s largest domestic carrier, which will give customers improved one-stop access 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. 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. Qantas and Jetstar will both launch direct flights to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport later this year, providing business, premium leisure and low-cost travel options between Australia and Korea. Jetstar will become the only low-cost carrier to fly direct to South Korea from Sydney, with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flights operating from 2 November 2022 three times per week. Qantas will begin direct flights between Sydney and Seoul from 10 December 2022 with its A330 aircraft, marking the first Qantas scheduled service to Seoul since January 2008. The launch of these new direct services recognises the increasing popularity of South Korea as a must-see destination for Australians, with its rich cultural history, vibrant nightlife, and incredible food. In return, South Korean travellers – who pre-COVID travelled more frequently than any other nation in the Asia Pacific – consistently rank Australia as the top destination they want to visit. Since Australia’s borders re-opened last November, led by New South Wales, the Qantas Group has carried almost 500,000 passengers on its international services across 27 international routes, with another six routes restarting next week. Group international capacity is expected to reach more than 40 percent of pre-COVID capacity in April. Qantas has now added six new overseas routes in the past six months, including Perth-Rome and Melbourne-Delhi, Melbourne-Dallas Fort-Worth and Darwin-Dili as it taps into new markets. All three new routes announced are 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. 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.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]