Aussie travellers able to reach Sapporo, Japan faster in new direct flight route announced by Qantas
Qantas has revealed a new flight route to meet increasing demand from travellers that is a first for any Australian airline.
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Travellers who love skiing in Japan will be able to get there faster with a new flight route.
Qantas has now launched new direct seasonal flights between Sydney and Sapporo, to meet a growing demand from Australians.
The route marks a major milestone for the Flying Kangaroo, making it the first Australian airline to fly direct between the two cities.
The flight time from Sydney is just over 11 hours, and travellers can save around two hours in time by going on the direct flight.
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It is expected to be popular with travellers who book existing Qantas flights from Sydney to Tokyo (Haneda) and Osaka, Melbourne to Tokyo (Narita) Brisbane to Tokyo (Narita), and Jetstar’s flights from Cairns to Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka, and the Gold Coast to Tokyo (Narita).
Qantas will fly three times a week to Sapporo’s new Chitose Airport between December 16 this year and March 28, 2020.
The flights will be operated with the upgraded Airbus A330 aircraft and offer more than 10,000 seats on the route.
Qantas International Acting CEO Naren Kumar said in a statement to News Corp that Sapporo was a popular holiday spot.
“Travel between Australia and Japan is booming,” he said. “These new flights make it easier for Australians to reach Hokkaido’s popular ski resorts like Niseko and Rusutsu.”
The new flight route comes as the number of Australians travelling to Japan has more than doubled over the past five years, with almost half a million Australians visiting Japan in the last year.
Mr Kumar said they expect Japan’s popularity to continue with the country hosting a number of major international sporting events like the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“Domestic connections with Jetstar Japan will also open up new options for customers who want to travel beyond the Hokkaido region for both business and leisure,” he said.
“In the past two years we’ve expanded our network by adding two new destinations in Japan to meet this growing demand: a year-round service to Osaka, and now seasonal services to Sapporo.”
Qantas also said in a statement it will be working with the Hokkaido Government to drive a new tourism market, by promoting the new service to travellers from the Hokkaido region who can come and experience summer in Australia.
Customers can book Qantas’ new Sapporo service from today at the airline’s website.
Originally published as Aussie travellers able to reach Sapporo, Japan faster in new direct flight route announced by Qantas
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