Australia’s largest international and domestic airline Qantas (QAN) has announced a boost to its international network, as it eyes a return to pre-COVID levels by March 2024.
The nation’s Flying Kangaroo confirmed it would add extra flights, additional aircraft, and new routes to keep up with strong travel demand in the aftermath of the pandemic.
From late October 2023, Qantas plans to add around one million seats to its international network over the following 12 months, providing its customers with more flights to key destinations including Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York.
“The rebound in demand for international travel since borders reopened has been incredibly strong and this boost to our network will add hundreds of thousands of seats in time for the busy Australian summer holiday period,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.
“Qantas has been the most on-time major domestic airline for the past eight months in a row and that improved performance means we can release some of the aircraft we’ve had in reserve.
“That reflects more parts of the aviation supply chain returning to normal and it’s a huge credit to the hard work of our people across the group.”
The airline provider reported the additions to its network would be possible through Qantas aircraft returning to service, as well as new aircraft joining the fleet and an agreement with Finnair to operate two Airbus A330 aircraft on two Qantas routes.
However, that was met with some criticism, as the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) President Captain Tony Lucas said the decision to lease Finnair aircrafts was “shocking”.
“Qantas’ decision to wet lease two Finnair aircraft is shocking, bitterly disappointing and could have been avoided with more effective management decisions,” he said.
“The decision to wet lease illustrates the failures of the fleet planning processes of the last five years and certainly recent decisions made during the pandemic recovery.
“Not only is it disappointing for our hardworking and dedicated pilots but it is also disappointing for loyal Qantas passengers.
“Using the words of Qantas, stepping onto one of its aircraft is supposed to “feel like home”.
“Sadly this won’t be the case for passengers on these flights,” Mr Lucas added.
Mr Lucas also expressed that it would be costly for Qantas to call on another carrier in this instance.
“Getting another carrier to operate our routes is also significantly more expensive than operating the services within Qantas,” he said.
“This is a sad day for our great airline.”
Nonetheless, Qantas said it would add a further 300 workers by the end of the year, thanks to the proposed boost to its network.
The airline provider also announced it would add more frequent travel between Australia and Japan, as well as two additional international routes from Brisbane.
Elsewhere, Alliance Aviation (AQZ) announced it would increase the number of wet lease aircraft to Qantas from 18 to 22.
Shares in QAN were up 1.09 per cent and trading at $6.52 at 1:55 pm AEST, while shares in AQZ were down 2.56 per cent and trading at $3.05 at the same time.
