Qantas paints political message on aircraft

The Australian national carrier Qantas is painting political messages on some of its aircraft the airline confirmed this week.  So far it has placed a special livery on three of its planes to support the YES vote in an upcoming referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Whilst cabin crew are actively discouraged from voicing political opinions whilst on duty, the airline says the Yes23 campaign logo, will be carried on at least three aircraft: a Qantas Boeing 737, a QantasLink Dash 8 Turboprop and a Jetstar Airbus A320.

The outgoing Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce claims support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was part of the airline's commitment to reconciliation and, more broadly, the notion of a ‘fair go’.  "Qantas has a long history of supporting reconciliation with First Nations people, from the Aboriginal artwork on our inflight magazine in the 1960s and on our aircraft since the 1990s, to our support for constitutional recognition in 2014, public support of the Uluru Statement of the Heart 2019, and our First Nations employment and supplier commitments," he said. 

Joyce added:  "We’re supporting the Yes23 campaign because we believe a formal voice to the government will help close the gap for First Nations people in important areas like health, education and employment."

Top leadership changes at The Qantas Group as a new focus on renewal takes shape.

The Qantas Group has recently announced a number of changes to its group management committee as part of its focus on renewal. The changes include senior appointments to roles made vacant by retirements and promotions, as well as structural changes the company is introducing to focus on areas of major investment, including human resources and customer experience.

The key changes include

Creation of a dedicated Chief People Officer.

New Chief Financial Officer

Rob Marcolina, the current Qantas Group Executive of Strategy, People and Technology,  will move to the role of New Chief Financial Officer, made vacant once current CFO Vanessa Hudson takes on the Group CEO role.

New CEO of Qantas Domestic – following the retirement of Andrew David in September, current Chief Customer Officer, Markus Svensson, will take on this position. Markus has been with Qantas for over a decade and has broad experience across revenue management, network, sales, alliances, offshore operations and strategy.

New Chief Customer and Digital Officer – Catriona Larritt, who has been with the Group since 2015, will take on this position. Responsibility for Technology will be added to this portfolio, reflecting the role of digital in improving customer experience. Catriona is currently Executive Manager of Qantas Freight and was formerly Chief Commercial Officer at Jetstar.

New CEO of QantasLink – current CEO of QantasLink, John Gissing, will retire from this position in November after almost 25 years in a number of roles within the Qantas Group. An executive search process is underway to fill this position, which has responsibility for regional and some charter market operations. John will remain available to the Group CEO for a further 12 months as an adviser.

Creation of a Chief Risk Officer – this will bring together risk management for the Group as a whole, to provide the highest level of oversight and governance. Current Qantas Executive, Andrew Monaghan, will step into this role. Andrew is currently Executive Manager of Safety and has deep operational experience gained during a 17-year career at the Group, including as Chief Operating Officer for Qantas and QantasLink, in addition to roles in audit and HR.

Qantas sets up discriminatory pricing system

Trade partners of Australian airline Qantas are set to benefit from an extension to the airline’s lower pricing initiative when booking fares through Qantas’ next-generation distribution platform.

From 29 August 2023, Australian and New Zealand-based travel agents will be able to take advantage of discounted trans-Tasman fares by up to 5% via the Qantas Distribution Platform (QDP), compared to other indirect booking systems or other agencies and networks. At this stage, it is unknown how much of the discount will be passed on to customers.  

The initiative is an extension of the discounted Australian domestic fares that were implemented last November.  The QDP was designed to modernise the service that trade partners provide to customers with a wider range of products, features and capabilities.

Since its launch, Qantas has continued to invest in the capabilities of the QDP, releasing special offers and new revenue opportunities, growing its network of Technology Partners and expanding the program internationally.

Qantas Executive Manager of Global Sales and Distribution Igor Kwiatkowski said the extension of the lowering pricing initiative will continue to reward travel agents and customers using the QDP.

“We’ve continued to invest in and modernise our distribution capabilities to the highest industry standards and we’re committed to providing agents with richer content so they can better serve our mutual customers,” said Mr Kwiatkowski.

Qantas has resumed seasonal flights direct from Perth to Rome

The leading Australian international carrier, Qantas, resumes seasonal flights direct from Perth to Rome for the second year running.  The flights will operate three days per week with the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft until 3 October 2023, offering more than 22,000 seats between Australia and Italy over a four-month period.  The route remains the only direct flight between Australia and continental Europe offered by any airline. Customers travelling in Business class from Rome to Perth will be offered limited-edition Qantas amenity kits, launched in partnership with Tourism Western Australia, featuring the artwork of Western Australian Wongi artist Kevin Wilson.

The national carrier has also confirmed it will operate the service for a third year, with flights for 2024 to go on sale in early July. Qantas International CEO Cameron Wallace said the airline was pleased to be carrying Australians direct to Rome for another summer in Europe.

“Our Perth – Rome route was one of the most popular across our international network last year and bookings show that it’s shaping to be that way again,” said Mr Wallace.

“We also saw many customers using Rome as a gateway to continental Europe, connecting onwards with our network of partners, with Sicily, Athens and Barcelona being amongst the top destinations last year.

“The route is fantastic for tourism operators across Western Australia, not just because of the influx of visitors we’ve seen from Italy, but also because it promotes Perth as a stopover for Australians travelling to Europe from the east coast.

“One of the trends we’ve seen emerge post-COVID is that preference for direct flights is higher than ever. Strong customer demand for our long-haul international routes has given us the confidence to commit to a third season in 2024.”

Customers can connect from Rome to 16 destinations in Europe including Geneva, Nice and Madrid and 14 destinations within Italy including Milan and Venice. A “circle fare” also allows Qantas customers to fly into Rome and return to Australia from London on the one ticket.

In 2022, Italy was ranked as Western Australia’s 11th largest international market for visitors, up from 23rd largest in 2019.

Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook has welcomed the resumption of direct flights linking Perth and Rome, saying they have proven to a be a game-changer for the State’s economy.

“From keen travellers to Western Australians with strong family ties to Italy, all will welcome being able to step off at Perth Airport then set foot in the eternal city.  The resumption of what has proved to be a very popular flight has obvious economic and cultural benefits for our State.  Linking Perth and Rome with direct flights enables us to deliver on our strategy to diversify our economy and support jobs across a range of sectors, including tourism and hospitality.

This is further proof of our State’s reputation as the Western Gateway.”

Qantas completes incremental order for nine more Airbus A220 aircraft

Qantas has just finalised an incremental order for nine Airbus A220-300s, taking its backlog for the single-aisle type to 29 aircraft. The A220 was originally selected by Qantas as part of a major fleet replacement programme announced in May 2022, which also included orders for the A321XLR and A350-1000. The carrier had announced its intention to order the additional A220s in February this year.

Qantas will take delivery of its first A220 at the end of this year and will operate the type primarily on its extensive domestic route network. Combining latest generation technologies and a wider, quieter cabin for extra comfort, the A220 can fly further than other aircraft in its size category, while also bringing a step-change reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. 

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International said: "We are pleased to announce this incremental order from Qantas. Best in class, the A220 will be the perfect platform for a domestic network that includes everything from short hops to flights of five hours and beyond. Combining efficiency, comfort and longer range, the A220 will also contribute from Day 1 to the carrier’s far-reaching Climate Action Plan.”

Finnair to lease two Airbus A330 aircraft to Qantas

The Oneworld alliance airline based in Helsinki, Finnair has agreed to lease two Airbus A330 jets to Australian oneworld partner airline, Qantas for four and a half years.

Initially, the two A330's will be wet-leased (aircraft, crew, insurance) to the Qantas (aircraft and crew) for two years, after that the jets will be on a dry lease (aircraft only) to the Australian airline for 2 and half years.  

The deal has been struck as Finnair has been hard hit by the closure of Russian airspace which has resulted in longer reroutes for some of its long-haul flights. These A330s loads have been limited because of the increased time and range the reroutes are range limited by the rerouting. 

During the wet lease period, the aircraft will be deployed in Qantas’ network on routes from Sydney and Singapore as well as Sydney and Bangkok. Finnair pilots will fly scheduled Finnair flights from Helsinki to Singapore and from Helsinki to Bangkok; then, they will continue flying scheduled Qantas flights between Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney before returning to their home base in Helsinki. 

The cabin crew are provided by Finnair partners based in Singapore and Bangkok, and the aircraft maintenance is performed by Finnair partners at the Qantas destinations. Finnair has secured sufficient pilot resources to match its fleet size, including the aircraft leased to Qantas. The Qantas agreement does not impact the number of cabin crew at Finnair, as they are fully deployed in other operations.

Qantas starts direct flights between Melbourne and Tokyo

Qantas will resume direct flights between Melbourne and Tokyo for the first time in more than three years, creating more options for Australians travelling to Japan.

The new service is the first non-stop flight between Melbourne and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport by any airline, saving passengers nearly two hours travel to downtown Tokyo compared with Narita Airport, which the flight operated to before the pandemic.

The year-round flights will operate four days per week with an Airbus A330 aircraft and add to Qantas’ existing flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Haneda Airport. Together, these flights offer customers more than 420,000 seats between Australia and Japan annually and the choice of double daily flights to Tokyo.

Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said the flights would support the resurgence of tourism and trade links between Australia and Japan which have been growing rapidly since borders reopened.

“We’ve seen the demand for our Tokyo flights bounce back very strongly, and our research shows that it is one of the top tourist destinations that Australians plan on visiting in the next 12 months,” said Mr David.

Inflight meal upgrade for Qantas passengers.....

Qantas passengers are travelling across its regional, domestic and international network are in for a bigger and better inflight and lounge dining experience as the airline rolls out a significant menu enhancement program this month.

The additional multi-million dollar investment introduces new dishes and larger portions across all cabins, using high-quality ingredients from premium Australian producers.

It is the single biggest investment in Qantas inflight and lounge dining in a decade and comes as the airline returns to profit and accelerates its customer investment programs. These include a $100 million expansion of domestic and international lounges, progressive renewal of its aircraft and new routes.

These menu changes follow an overhaul of the domestic Economy menu in October 2022, offering more variety and catering to several dietary requirements, including a vegetarian option for all meals.

Qantas deal with China Airlines benefits Frequent Flyers

Frequent flyers can now use their Qantas Points to travel to more than 75 destinations around the world with China Airlines, as Qantas expands its partnership with the Taipei-based carrier.

The expansion means Qantas Frequent Flyers can use points to book Classic Flight Reward seats on all China Airlines flights, adding more destinations to the 1,200 they can already fly to using points and providing another option to many other destinations particularly across Asia and Europe.

Frequent Flyers were previously able to use points to travel on China Airlines between Australia and Taipei only.

Members can travel from Sydney to Da Nang in Economy using 37,800 points, from Melbourne to Amsterdam in Business using 159,000 points or Sydney to Taipei in Business using 75,000 points (plus taxes, fees and carrier charges). Bookings will also be able to be made through the Contact Centre shortly.

Qantas unveils prototypes of the First and Business cabins on the Airbus A350 that will fly passengers non-stop from Australia to New York and London from late 2025.

Luxe First suites with fixed flat bed, separate lounge recliner and wardrobe.

Next Generation Business suites with sliding door for added privacy.

Fast and free Wi-Fi to be installed across A350 fleet.

Qantas has unveiled prototypes of the First and Business cabins on the aircraft that will fly passengers non-stop from Australia to New York and London from late 2025.

A virtual reality fly through of the aircraft cabin has also been revealed.

Designed with ultra-long haul travel in mind, the flagship cabins are the first to be developed from the ground up by a mix of aviation specialists, as well as Australian industrial design studio Caon Design, and a multidisciplinary team of scientists from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre including sleep scientists.

Key to the cabin design has been giving passengers more space, made possible by Qantas’ decision to configure its 12 Airbus A350s to seat 238 passengers compared to the 300-plus seat layout specified by other carriers.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the investment in new A350 aircraft and approach to cabin design continues Qantas’ 100-year history of aviation ‘firsts’.

“Qantas has been the leader in opening up new long-haul flights for most of our history, and we’re bringing everything we’ve learned, both technically and in terms of passenger comfort, to Project Sunrise flying,” said Mr Joyce.

“We think our A350 cabins have the most sophisticated and thoughtful design of any airline, combining cutting edge technology with sleep research to shape the look and feel for what is effectively a new era of travel.

“We’re building on the customer experience of our extremely popular non-stop flights from Perth to London as we keep working to make it easier to connect Australia with the rest of the world.”

The spacious First suite has a range of features to make customers feel like they are in a mini boutique hotel room complete with an extra-wide fixed bed, separate recliner chair, personal wardrobe, dining table for two and a 32” ultra-high definition TV.

Every Business suite will have direct aisle access for ease of moving around the cabin, and Qantas is incorporating sliding doors into the suite for privacy, if desired.

Other Business features include a two metre flat bed, generous storage (including a large mirror), cushioned leather ottoman, 18” ultra-high definition touch screen TV, large dining table and feature lighting.

First and Business will also offer multiple personal device charging options including wireless induction charging.

Top level changes at Qantas.....

The Qantas Group has announced changes to its Group Management Committee, as the national carrier moves into a new phase of growth and renewal.

In summary, the changes are:

Andrew David, who is CEO of Qantas Domestic and International, will retire from the Group in September 2023.

The role of CEO of Qantas Domestic and International (which was combined during COVID), will return to being two separate portfolios from 1 July 2023. This will provide the management bandwidth required as each business welcomes new aircraft and expands its network. Both roles will report to Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce.

Cameron Wallace, who has more than two decades of aviation experience in the Asia Pacific region, will join the Group as CEO of Qantas International and Freight from 1 July 2023. This will include growing Qantas International’s capacity to 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels and beyond, as well as guiding preparations for Project Sunrise through to the first flight in late 2025.

Andrew David will remain as CEO of Qantas Domestic until his retirement from the Group in September 2023. A recruitment process to appoint this role will start soon.

The rest of the Group Management Committee remains unchanged.

In announcing the changes, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “At the start of the pandemic, we rationalised the two CEO roles for Qantas Domestic and Qantas International down to one given what was happening to our business.

“With Andrew retiring and given the amount of investment now in the pipeline, it makes sense to again have separate CEOs for the International and Domestic businesses, which are both back to generating billions in revenue each year.

“Andrew has contributed a huge amount during his 10 years across both Qantas and Jetstar. His leadership of Qantas’ domestic, international and freight businesses has been pivotal, especially during the incredible challenge of putting the airline into hibernation and bringing it back again.

Qantas hopes to entice back premium passengers with new refurbished lounges will lead to profitability.

The Australian carrier Qantas has announced it will significantly enhance its network of lounges in Australia and overseas, elevating the pre-flight and transit travel experience for customers to a new level of luxury at key destinations.

Qantas hopes enticing back premium passengers with new refurbished lounges will lead to profitability.

The $100-million investment features four brand new lounges, including a new flagship First Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport, and an extensive upgrade program of existing international and domestic lounges, including:

New First Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport

Re-opening of a refreshed Hong Kong International Lounge

Complete refurbishment and expansion of International Business Lounge in Sydney

Updated and expanded International Business Lounge in Melbourne

New Hobart Qantas Club

New Broome Regional Lounge with double the seats

It’s the single biggest investment in the Qantas lounge network in more than a decade and comes as the airline expands its Domestic and International routes and starts to take delivery of next-generation aircraft. 

The $100-million investment in lounges is phased over three years and is included in the Group’s existing capital expenditure forecast.

The national carrier has an extensive lounge network, including 42 in Australia (12 of which are in regional destinations) and 9 overseas.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the faster-than-expected recovery in travel demand meant the airline could accelerate investment in its award-winning lounge network.

“Being back in profit means we’re back to making long-term investments for our customers. That started with the major aircraft order we announced last year and now we’re building on that with a major investment in our lounges,” said Mr Joyce.

“Millions of people a year visit our lounges and they are typically our frequent flyers who travel with us the most, so anything we do to improve them is a way of saying thank you to our most loyal customers.

“We have three new and upgraded lounge spaces due to open this year and the pipeline we’re announcing today will take us through to 2025.

“London is one of the most important destinations on our network and it’s the perfect location for a First Lounge, especially with our direct Project Sunrise flights on the way. Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports so we’re very pleased to be working with them to secure a great space in the terminal for an additional lounge,” Mr Joyce added.

Subject to agreement with Heathrow Airport and UK regulators, the luxury London First Lounge is expected to feature direct access to boarding gates, sweeping views of the airfield, a focus on wellbeing features and an unrivalled dining experience. The targeted opening date will align with the first Project Sunrise flights direct to Sydney.

The Qantas global lounge upgrade program includes:

Qantas will significantly enhance its network of lounges in Australia and overseas....

The Australian carrier Qantas has announced it will significantly enhance its network of lounges in Australia and overseas, elevating the pre-flight and transit travel experience for customers to a new level of luxury at key destinations.

The $100-million investment features four brand new lounges, including a new flagship First Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport, and an extensive upgrade program of existing international and domestic lounges, including:

New First Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport

Re-opening of a refreshed Hong Kong International Lounge

Complete refurbishment and expansion of International Business Lounge in Sydney

Updated and expanded International Business Lounge in Melbourne

New Hobart Qantas Club

New Broome Regional Lounge with double the seats

It’s the single biggest investment in the Qantas lounge network in more than a decade and comes as the airline expands its Domestic and International routes and starts to take delivery of next-generation aircraft. 

The $100-million investment in lounges is phased over three years and is included in the Group’s existing capital expenditure forecast.

The national carrier has an extensive lounge network, including 42 in Australia (12 of which are in regional destinations) and 9 overseas.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the faster-than-expected recovery in travel demand meant the airline could accelerate investment in its award-winning lounge network.

“Being back in profit means we’re back to making long-term investments for our customers. That started with the major aircraft order we announced last year and now we’re building on that with a major investment in our lounges,” said Mr Joyce.

“Millions of people a year visit our lounges and they are typically our frequent flyers who travel with us the most, so anything we do to improve them is a way of saying thank you to our most loyal customers.

“We have three new and upgraded lounge spaces due to open this year and the pipeline we’re announcing today will take us through to 2025.

“London is one of the most important destinations on our network and it’s the perfect location for a First Lounge, especially with our direct Project Sunrise flights on the way. Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports so we’re very pleased to be working with them to secure a great space in the terminal for an additional lounge,” Mr Joyce added.

Subject to agreement with Heathrow Airport and UK regulators, the luxury London First Lounge is expected to feature direct access to boarding gates, sweeping views of the airfield, a focus on wellbeing features and an unrivalled dining experience. The targeted opening date will align with the first Project Sunrise flights direct to Sydney.

The Qantas global lounge upgrade program includes:

Qantas shifts more aircraft memorabilia for charity....

Qantas has held an open house and charity auction of items from the cabin of an Airbus A330 passenger aircraft before it travels overseas to be converted into a dedicated air freighter.

Frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts were invited to an open house in Qantas’ Hangar 96 at Sydney Airport to inspect and bid on a number of items from the aircraft, including a bar cart, exit signs and a business class suite, to help ensure as much of the aircraft interior is reused, recycled or repurposed as possible.

The auction raised $16,300 for Qantas Pathfinders, a group of current and past Qantas staff which raises funds for NextSense (previously Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children).

After 15 years of safely flying passengers around Australia and overseas, this A330 (VH-EBE Kangaroo Valley) will head to Dresden, Germany, to be converted into a dedicated freighter and will return to Australia as part of the Qantas Freight fleet.

The conversion will be performed by EFW, a specialist joint venture between Airbus and ST Engineering. Conversion work will include a full strip-out of the cabin (seats, galleys, toilets), replacing the existing cabin door with a larger freight door and installing a cargo handling system.

Qantas shows off new pride livery......

Sashaying to a runway near you is the new Pride is in the Air livery adorning an Airbus A330-200 of Qantas, the Australian flag carrier. The aircraft,  registration VH-EBL will be deployed across both domestic and international flights to help the airline celebrate Pride.

Qantas is a long-time partner of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and this year it’s going to be bigger and better than ever before as part of Sydney WorldPride 2023.

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New route and sales news from Aussie airline Qantas

Qantas has launched a sale with discounted fares to 26 destinations across the airline’s international network and will launch a new route between Melbourne and Jakarta.

QANTAS INTERNATIONAL SALE

More than 170,000 seats are up for grabs, with the sale fares up to 35 per cent below the normal lead-in fares. Discounts vary from route to route and selected travel dates and days apply. Examples of some of the sale fares include:

• Melbourne – Delhi from $999 return
• Melbourne – London from $1,699 return
• Melbourne – Singapore from $759 return
• Melbourne – Dallas/Fort Worth from $1,899 return
• Sydney – Los Angeles from $1,299 return
• Sydney – Santiago from $1,699 return
• Sydney – Bengaluru from $999 return
• Sydney – Seoul from $949 return
• Brisbane – Singapore from $759 return
• Perth – Singapore from $599 return

The sale runs until Tuesday, 7 February 2023, unless sold out prior.*

Getting Qantas back to its best....... the word according to the airlines CEO Alan Joyce

The boss of Australian airline Qantas has released the following statement on how he thinks the carrier is doing and how it is working hard to get back to its best.

Getting it back to its best.....

As the CEO of Qantas, people are always keen to tell you how they think the airline is doing. Whatever their feedback is, I always see it first and foremost as a reflection of the strong connection Australia has with the national carrier.

To be honest, we know that connection has been tested at times.

Six months ago, a lot of people felt we’d let them down and the figures showed why. Almost half our flights were late, our rate of misplaced bags had more than doubled and we were cancelling up to 7 per cent of our schedule.

Perception wise, it didn’t help that this came after some controversial restructuring decisions to make sure we survived COVID. And it didn’t matter that airlines around the world had the same problems as travel restarted. If your flight to the Gold Coast just got cancelled, it doesn’t make you feel any better if the delays are worse in Amsterdam.

Knowing that we were routinely letting customers down was hugely disappointing for everyone at Qantas. It’s the exact opposite of our culture.

Qantas has launched a sale with discounted fares to 26 destinations across the airline’s international network and will launch a new route between Melbourne and Jakarta.

Qantas has launched a sale with discounted fares to 26 destinations across the airline’s international network and will launch a new route between Melbourne and Jakarta.

QANTAS INTERNATIONAL SALE

More than 170,000 seats are up for grabs, with the sale fares up to 35 per cent below the normal lead-in fares. Discounts vary from route to route and selected travel dates and days apply. Examples of some of the sale fares include:

• Melbourne – Delhi from $999 return
• Melbourne – London from $1,699 return
• Melbourne – Singapore from $759 return
• Melbourne – Dallas/Fort Worth from $1,899 return
• Sydney – Los Angeles from $1,299 return
• Sydney – Santiago from $1,699 return
• Sydney – Bengaluru from $999 return
• Sydney – Seoul from $949 return
• Brisbane – Singapore from $759 return
• Perth – Singapore from $599 return

The sale runs until Tuesday, 7 February 2023, unless sold out prior.*

Qantas extends codeshare deal with IndiGo reaching far more of India.

Qantas is offering customers even more travel options across India as part of an expansion of its codeshare partnership with IndiGo.

The national carrier launched the first phase of its codeshare agreement with India’s largest domestic carrier in August last year, offering customers seamless connections from Qantas flights in Bengaluru and Delhi onto IndiGo services to other major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Chennai,  as well as smaller destinations such as Pune and Goa.

Under the second phase of the agreement, Qantas customers can now travel to an additional eight cities, bringing the total number of Indian destinations available for connection from Delhi and Bengaluru to 21. Qantas customers will also have more choice across IndiGo’s domestic network with more than 250 new flights available for booking.

Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (with the QF code) and IndiGo recognises Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in and priority baggage.

Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo can carry the same baggage allowance as their flight from Australia as well as receiving complimentary food and drinks.

Qantas Chief Customer Officer, Markus Svensson said: “Qantas’ new routes to India have proven to be incredibly popular with our customers.

Our codeshare partnership with IndiGo has improved the way our customers travel between Australia and India, and the additional destinations give travellers even more options.

The new codeshare flights will allow our customers to enjoy more connections across India from our Delhi and Bengaluru gateways and have their luggage checked straight through to their final destination.

Our frequent flyers in particular benefit from booking these flights, with more opportunities to earn points and status credits.”

New codeshare destinations:

Guwahati

Indore

Chandigarh

Mangalore

Jaipur

Nagpur

Thiruvananthapuram

Visakhapatnam

Existing codeshare destinations:

Ahmedabad

Amritsar

Bengaluru

Chennai

Delhi

Goa

Mumbai

Kochi

Kolkata

Hyderabad

Lucknow

Patna

Pune

Qantas has joined forces with five large companies in Australia to show the demand that exists for a local sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry.

The Australian airline Qantas has joined forces with five large companies in Australia to show the demand that exists for a local sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in Australia by preferencing it as a way to reduce their carbon emissions.

The national carrier has launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition (SAF Coalition) program, with Australia Post, Boston Consulting Group, KPMG Australia, Macquarie Group and Woodside Energy signing on as foundation members.

Members will pay a premium to reduce around 900 tonnes of their air carbon emissions each year by contributing to the incremental cost of SAF rather than using traditional carbon offsets. By doing so, they send a clear message that there is significant demand for SAF, the key driver towards the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.

The Coalition will initially contribute to the incremental cost of up to 10 million litres of SAF sourced by Qantas at London’s Heathrow Airport, which represents around 15 per cent of the fuel Qantas ordinarily consumes on flights out of London, and from 2025 to a further 20 million litres each year sourced out of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Qantas is currently in negotiations with a number of offshore suppliers to source additional supplies of SAF, which is in high demand globally and which the national carrier would prefer to source domestically.

Together with Airbus, Qantas committed in June to invest up to US$200 million to get a local SAF industry off the ground, including equity funding for new feedstock and refining projects.

The foundation members will also receive enhanced reporting on the emissions from their flying activity and employees will get fast-tracked access to Qantas Frequent Flyer’s Green Tier program.

Qantas will continue discussions with a number of other companies looking to join the Coalition.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the strong demand for SAF from corporate Australia is a key step towards the development of a local biofuels industry.

“Air travel is a crucial part of doing business for many companies.  Companies need to travel to meet customers, suppliers and partners, but they also want to reduce their impact on the environment. SAF is a great way to do that,” Mr Joyce said.

“The demand for SAF has never been higher but supply is lagging well behind, particularly without a local industry in Australia, and that’s keeping prices several times more expensive than traditional jet kerosene.

“The more leading corporates that join our program/coalition the more feasible a local industry becomes and the more cost-effective the fuel becomes.”

SAF is produced from certified bio feedstock, including used cooking oil, energy crops, forestry residues, animal tallow and other waste products. It is blended with normal jet fuel and produces up to 80 per cent less emissions on a life cycle basis when compared with traditional jet kerosene.

The Qantas Group has committed to using 10 per cent SAF in its overall fuel mix by 2030 and approximately 60 per cent by 2050.

The SAF Coalition will extend Qantas’ existing corporate offsetting program, Future Planet, which enables companies to offset emissions through certified, high-quality projects in Australia and overseas.

The Qantas Group’s commitment to sustainability:

Qantas was the second airline in the world to commit to net zero emissions by 2050



The Qantas Group Climate Action Plan released in March 2022, commits the airline group to an interim target of 25 per cent emissions reduction by 2030

As part of its fleet replacement program announced in May, the Qantas Group confirmed purchase rights for up to 134 A321XLR and A220 aircraft, which will reduce emissions by at least 15 per cent if running on traditional fossil fuels

Jetstar’s first A321LR, which arrived in August, burned 25 per cent less fuel (the equivalent of two tonnes) on its first commercial flight from Melbourne to Cairns than the older aircraft it replaces

The Qantas Group’s landmark Project Sunrise program, which will use A350s to travel non-stop initially between Sydney and London and Sydney and New York, will be carbon neutral from day one

Qantas’ Fly Carbon Neutral program is one of the largest airline offsetting program in the world, with a focus on high integrity projects in Australia and overseas. Around 10 per cent of passengers “tick the box” to offset flights. Offsetting is a key tool in Qantas’ decarbonisation efforts, particularly while alternative aircraft propulsion technology (eg electric) is still many years away