AviationThe Flying Kangaroo skips Sydney-Shanghai flights but opens up other routes in Asia.

China loses its Qantas connections

May 27, 2024

The Australian airline is keeping a sharp eye on the market and fluctuating demands. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/f11photo

Qantas will be suspending flights to Shanghai from 28 July 2024 due to low demand. Sydney-Shanghai flights were previously put on hold during the pandemic, but post-Covid demand has not recovered as previously anticipated.

“Qantas will continue to monitor the Australia-China market closely and will look to return to Shanghai when demand has recovered,” the airline said in a statement to the press.

“Customers booked to travel on Shanghai flights from 28 July will be contacted and offered a full refund, or they can contact Qantas or their travel agent to discuss rebooking on alternative flights.”

Travellers looking to travel to Shanghai and other destinations in China may continue to do so on Qantas flights to Hong Kong with onward connections on partner airlines. Going forward, the aircraft previously used on the Sydney-Shanghai route will be redirected to boost flying to other directions across Asia.

More connectivity across Asia

Qantas will be offering travellers a new international route out of Brisbane to Manila – from 28 October 2024, the route will operate four days per week with Airbus A330 aircraft, marking the first time the airline has flown between the two cities in over 10 years.

The flights add to Qantas’ existing daily service from Sydney, and will add more than 100,000 seats between Australia and the Philippines each year.

There will be more chances for travellers in Australia to visit Singapore, with Qantas increasing flights to Singapore by 10% and offering over 2,500 additional seats between Australia and the Lion City.

Future flight schedules have flights between Brisbane and Singapore increasing from seven to nine return flights per week from 27 October 2024, and 14 to 17 return flights per week between Sydney and Singapore from 11 December 2024.

Flights from Sydney to Bengaluru will also increase from five per week to daily to cater for strong demand over the peak holiday season, operating between mid-December 2024 and late March 2025. This will add over 12,000 seats between the two cities over the four-month period.