Qantas has officially launched its inaugural flight from Brisbane Airport (BNE) to Manila International Airport (MNL) in the Philippines.
Flight QF97 departed Brisbane at 21:46 local time on October 28, 2024, almost an hour behind schedule. After a flight time of more than seven hours, the Airbus A330 aircraft, registration VH-EBG, arrived in Manila at approximately 03:00 local time on October 29, 2024.
Qantas said the new route will add more than 100,000 seats between Australia and the Philippines every year.
The Brisbane-Manila route adds to the Australian flag carrier’s existing daily services from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Manila, further strengthening the airline’s presence in this key market.
The new flight will also improve connectivity for passengers traveling to the Philippines from New Zealand, with easy connections in both directions from Auckland Airport (AKL) and Christchurch Airport (CHC) to Manila via Brisbane.
“The Philippines is a very strong market for Qantas and we are pleased to be responding to demand for our services with new flights from Brisbane,” Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said in a statement.
“We know a lot of customers travel to Manila via Sydney, so this new direct flight will make it easier and faster for Queenslanders to get to the Philippines in a single hop,” Wallace added.
Qantas first touched down in the Philippines in 1947, using an Avro 691 Lancastrian aircraft to support Australian government military operations, before introducing Super Constellation passenger services in 1950.
In 1961, the first jet flights between Australia and Manila took off with Boeing 707 services flying from Sydney without a need for a stop over for the first time.
Qantas currently operates more than 300,000 seats between Australia and Philippines annually. In 2024, the airline will celebrate 75 years of passenger services between the two countries.