Qantas’ big international flight change amid surge in travel bookings for 2022
Qantas has unveiled a major detail of its first international flights when overseas travel resumes next month amid a surge in 2022 travel bookings.
Travel
Don't miss out on the headlines from Travel. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Qantas will operate its flagship direct route to London via Darwin when international flights resume next month with the reopening of Australia’s international borders.
The national carrier has reached an agreement with the Northern Territory Government and Darwin Airport to temporarily reroute its flights from Melbourne and Sydney through Darwin.
The airline confirmed the move on Friday night, saying the first Sydney-Darwin-London flight would take off on November 14.
The Melbourne-Darwin-London route is currently scheduled to begin on December 18, but Qantas says it could start earlier depending on discussions with the Victorian Government on shorter quarantine arrangements for returning travellers.
“The NT Government has worked closely with us to make these flights happen and I’d like to thank the Chief Minister and his team for finding a solution that is safe and streamlined,” Qantas Group chief executive officer Alan Joyce said.
Qantas says it will restart its flights from Sydney to Los Angeles in December.
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the direct route would mark a turning point for Australia as the states and territories work towards the next phases of the national reopening plan.
The commonwealth government shut Australia’s international borders in March 2020. Only a limited number of people have been granted a permit to leave the country, while tens of thousands of Australians have been stranded overseas by the country’s strict caps on arrivals.
Australians states will be able to reopen to international travellers in November once the 80 per cent double-dose Covid-19 vaccination target is met, under a plan announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on October 1.
The plan, which will begin with NSW, would see states allow travel for passengers who have been fully inoculated with a Therapeutic Goods Administration-approved vaccine and have been tested for Covid-19 before boarding their flight.
NSW will be the first state to trial at-home quarantine for fully vaccinated Australians and permanent residents arriving in the state from overseas.
Qantas has announced a two-phase plan for its Darwin flights to London.
In stage one, transiting passengers from all Australian states, or returning from London, will be able to visit the international lounge and shops at Darwin Airport.
Passengers travelling from London to Sydney and Melbourne via Darwin and wanting to travel onwards to other Australian cities may also be subject to state and territory quarantine requirements.
In stage two, transiting passengers will have the option to leave the terminal and visit Darwin,
Passengers based in Darwin will also be able to book the direct flight to London.
Qantas’ first international flight left Australia from Darwin in 1935, carrying passengers from Brisbane to Singapore via the NT capital.
‘GET US OUT OF AUSCATRAZ’: SURGE IN TRAVEL BOOKINGS
It comes as Australians are voting with their passports and the message – via a flurry of overseas holiday bookings is – get us out of Auscatraz.
Such is the demand for travel, most cruises due to leave Australian ports in 2022 are booked out.
Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten’s managing director Asia Pacific Damian Perry said cruises to cold destinations such as Antarctica, Iceland and Alaska are growing in popularity.
“We noticed an uptick once a road map was delivered from the government yet there has always been the insecurity around state borders and return to Australia that held some travellers off,” Mr Perry said.
“An outcome of the Covid disruptions is that travellers value time more than ever and those bucket list destinations that people may have considered are now on top of the list.
“Now that we have a clear path, borders opening and a commitment to the Australian public that we will catch up with the rest of the world, we are seeing our busiest days and expect the next three to six months to continue to grow,” he said.
It is a similar scene in the air, despite calls from the aviation industry and travellers for greater clarity on how a return to travel will work.
Air travel bookings have been swamped as Aussies dust off their passports and book flights for later in the year, while crossing their fingers they’ll be able to get back home.
“Following the Prime Minister’s announcement last week, we saw that demand immediately translated to flight searches and bookings,” Webjet chief executive officer David Galt said.
“And the number of bookings more than doubled in the three days following the announcement.”
Tourism operators have also seen an uptick in bookings, but said as the country takes its first cautious steps towards opening up to the world, domestic travel will be a “strong interest”.
“We have experienced a surge of interest since the announcement of travel restrictions easing, with the number of Australians browsing for trips up 198 per cent on the previous month,” Intrepid Travel chief executive James Thornton said.
“As a global travel business, our experience in Europe, the UK and North America is that travel will first resume domestically, and then to local or regional destinations with high vaccination rates.
“We are seeing strong interest in our Australian trips, particularly in Tasmania and the Northern Territory.”
Urgent travel warning for Aussies
Escalating warfare has forced the Australian government to issue a dire warning, saying flights out of one country may soon not be an option.
After nine years what has ad man Todd Sampson done for Qantas?
As the longest-serving member of the Qantas board, Todd Sampson has been in the firing line over his contribution to the airline but is the criticism deserved?