Summary

  • Airlines like Qantas are cutting routes with low demand to focus on more profitable destinations.
  • Qantas is redirecting aircraft from Shanghai to Manila, Singapore, and Bengaluru to meet customer needs and maximize profits.
  • Brisbane Airport is becoming a hub for new airline services, with Qantas launching new routes to Manila and increasing flights to Singapore.

After surviving the ravages of COVID-19, it seems airlines have become much more ruthless about cutting routes that don’t deliver and switching capacity to other destinations that are giving them the returns they need to recover fully.

Shanghai is not delivering

Today, Australia’s Qantas has done just that by adjusting its Asian network and dropping flights to China in favor of services to Singapore, India and the Philippines. From July 28, the airline will suspend its Sydney to Shanghai service due to low demand, just seven months after restarting in October last year.

Qantas-Fleet-2020

Photo: Qantas

Qantas had paused the route to Shanghai due to the pandemic but today said that demand had not recovered as anticipated. However, it added it will continue to monitor the Australia-China market closely and will look to return to Shanghai when demand returns.

In the meantime, customers can travel to Hong Kong on Qantas flights and then transfer to partner airlines for connections to Shanghai and other destinations in China. Customers booked on Shanghai flights from July 28 will be contacted by Qantas and offered a full refund, or they can rebook alternative flights.

Related

Qantas Restarts Airbus A330 Nonstops To Shanghai

With its return to mainland China today Qantas has resumed flights to all its pre-COVID international destinations.

Qantas currently operates the route using a mix of Airbus A330-200s and A330-300s, and it will now redeploy those aircraft to other, more popular destinations in Asia, including Manila, Singapore and Bengaluru in India. Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the airline is always looking to ensure it has the right aircraft on the right routes at the right time of the year to meet customer needs.

“Since COVID, the demand for travel between Australia and China has not recovered as strongly as expected. In some months, our flights to and from Shanghai have been operating around half full. That’s why we’ve decided to suspend this route and boost flying to the popular destinations with a new route from Brisbane to Manila and additional flights to Singapore and Bengaluru.”

A Qantas Airbus A330 flying in the sky.

Photo: KITTIKUN YOKSAP | Shutterstock

Wallace confirmed that Qantas will continue to maintain a presence in China through its partner airlines and the existing flights to Hong Kong and “will look to return to Shanghai in the future.” According to Planespotters.net, Qantas has a fleet of 125 aircraft, including 16 Airbus A330-200s, 10 A330-300s, 10 A380-800s, 75 Boeing 737-800s and 14 787-9 Dreamliners.

Where are the planes going next?

Brisbane Airport (BNE) is fast becoming a magnet for new airline services, and Qantas has seized the opportunity to launch a new route from there to the capital of the Philippines, Manila. The new route will launch on October 28, 2024, the first time Qantas has flown between Brisbane and Manila in more than ten years, and operate four times weekly with an Airbus A330 widebody.

Qantas Airbus A330-200 at Brisbane Airport

Photo: Brisbane Airport

This will complement the existing Qantas daily flight QF19 from Sydney to Manila, which is also operated with an Airbus A330-200. That service departs Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at 12:25 and lands at Manila Ninoy Aquino International (MNL) at 18:50, with an average flying time of 7:50 hours.

Qantas is increasing flights from Australia to Singapore by around 10% by adding 2,500 additional weekly seats. From December 11, 2024, flights from Sydney to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) will increase from 14 to 17 weekly return flights. There are two Qantas flights currently operating from Sydney to Singapore, the flagship QF1 using an Airbus A380 and flight QF81 operated by the workhorse A330 aircraft.

Qantas Airbus A380

Photo: G Tipene | Shutterstock

From October 27, Brisbane will also see an increase in flights to Singapore from seven to nine return flights weekly. These will be timed to improve connectivity with the Qantas daily A380 QF1 to London, reducing overall travel time between Brisbane and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) by around four hours.

Related

A Qantas Airbus A380 Is Making One Of The Longest Ever Flights Back To Australia

After emerging from the desert in 2021 and undergoing heavy maintenance in Germany, Qantas A380 VH-OQK flew 10,000 miles nonstop on December 16.

The third frequency upgrade is between Sydney and India’s Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport (BLR). This will increase from five per week to daily to cater to strong demand during the peak summer season, which extends from mid-December until late March 2025. Over the four months, the extra seasonal flights will add more than 12,000 extra A330 seats between Australia and India.

Is this a good move by Qantas? Let us know in the comments.

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