Summary
- With the Northern Winter travel season about to begin Brisbane Airport is adding significant new capacity in the coming weeks.
- United Airlines is increasing the Brisbane-San Francisco route from three times weekly to daily and adding a new Los Angeles route.
- China Eastern and China Southern are adding capacity with flights from Shanghai and Guangzhou, while Qantas, Jetstar, and Rex are also expanding Brisbane services.
This coming Sunday marks the start of the Northern Winter travel season when airline schedules change to match changing seasonal demands. As a Southern Hemisphere nation, Australia typically welcomes more international services between November and March, coinciding with the peak summer holiday and travel season.
The same is true this year as more international routes and flights are added, many of which will open or resume nonstop flights not operated during the pandemic. Queensland’s Brisbane Airport (BNE) is a prime example of the impact this will have, with an extra 1.3 million international seats in and out of Brisbane in the next twelve months.
Photo: Brisbane Airport Corporation
Yesterday, Brisbane Airport highlighted the seven new international routes and increased services on existing flights will speed up its post-COVID recovery. In September, the airport handled 81% of pre-pandemic capacity, but with the additional services, that will grow to around 90% in December.
Happy Birthday to UA96
On October 30 last year, United Airlines flight UA96 from San Francisco landed at Brisbane Airport to begin three times weekly nonstop services. As well as opening a new route, it marked the first time that a scheduled passenger service by a US mainland carrier had operated to Brisbane.
Photo: Brisbane Airport.
The route has proven so successful that a year since the first service, United Airlines (United) is increasing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights to a daily service. Commenting on the additional flights at Brisbane Airport, Executive General Manager of Aviation Ryan Both said:
“We also celebrate United Airlines significantly boosting flights to Brisbane. It was exactly 12 months ago that United launched three flights per week from San Francisco to Brisbane. Now this will become a daily service and United will also add Los Angeles as a destination in time for Christmas.”
On December 1, United will be commencing four times weekly nonstop services from Brisbane to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). This means that Queenslanders will have 11 weekly return flights between Brisbane and the US compared to zero twelve months ago, with services to two of the most popular destinations in the US for Australians – Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Growth is coming from other regions
With travel restrictions now a thing of the past, the major Chinese airlines have been rapidly adding capacity across Australia. With a higher per-capita spend compared to other travelers, China was the most lucrative market for Queensland pre-pandemic, and November will see the return of two heavyweights, China Eastern and China Southern Airlines.
Photo: Airbus
On November 1, China Eastern commences three times weekly flights between Shanghai and Brisbane that will increase to seasonal daily from December 11. China Southern is starting the Guangzhou route with four flights weekly from November 18 and will also increase those to seasonal daily on December 11.
Not all the extra Brisbane capacity is coming from overseas-based airlines, as on Sunday, Qantas is commencing three services per week to Honiara (Solomon Islands) and daily flights to New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. From October 30, low-cost carrier Jetstar will be operating five services per week to Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT), while domestic and regional airline Rex is launching flights between Adelaide (ADL) and Brisbane with its Boeing 737-800s.
Photo: Jetstar.
Once the capacity and route changes are implemented, Brisbane Airport will be connected to 29 international destinations, facilitating millions of dollars of inbound tourism, travel and trade opportunities for Queensland. Both added that when “Brisbane Airport is busy, Queensland is busy, and things are about to step up a notch.”
Travelers on both sides of the Pacific will also have direct access to a plethora of connections in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Brisbane. Brisbane Airport is fast becoming a popular gateway to Australia and is a major domestic hub with services to 61 scheduled and charter destinations, giving arriving passengers seamless connections across the country.
Have you traveled on United’s Brisbane – San Francisco flight? Let us know in the comments.