Qantas has shaken up its Asia network, dropping Shanghai and
launching a new route to Manila, while increasing flights to Singapore
and India.
From 28 July, flights to Shanghai will be suspended due to low
demand. The service was resumed in October last year after it was paused
during COVID, however demand has not recovered as anticipated, the
Australian flag carrier said.
Qantas said aircraft used on this route will be redirected to boost
flying to other destinations across Asia where there is increasing
demand or new tourism opportunities.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said, “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.
“We’ll continue to maintain a presence in China through our partners
and our existing flights to Hong Kong and look to return to Shanghai in
the future.”
Qantas will launch a new international route out of Brisbane with the flying kangaroo set to begin flights to Manila.
From 28 October, 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 more than 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.
Qantas will increase flying to Singapore by around 10%, offering more
than 2,500 additional seats per week between Australia and the Lion
City.
Sydney to Singapore will increase from 14 to 17 return flights per
week from 11 December, while Brisbane to Singapore will increase from
seven to nine return flights per week from 27 October, timed to improve
connectivity with Qantas’ daily service from Singapore to London.
Flights from Sydney to Bengaluru will also increase from five per
week to daily to cater for strong demand over the peak holiday season.