- More than 4 million customers expected to travel during school holidays on Qantas and Jetstar
- Demand remains strong with consumers continuing to prioritise travel
- Eleven international routes announced or resumed since mid-May
Qantas and Jetstar are gearing up for a busy school holiday period, as travellers make the most of additional capacity and new routes.
The Group expects to carry more than 4 million passengers over the school holiday period[1]. Top domestic leisure destinations include the Gold Coast and Cairns, while new international routes including Sydney-Auckland-New York and Perth-Rome are heavily booked.
Travel demand remains strong and data shows that consumers continue to prioritise travel over other spending categories. The Group remains on track to deliver the financial performance for FY23 outlined in its May market update.
Below is a summary of recent developments across the Group, with a particular focus on improving the journey for customers.
FLEET
The Group has taken delivery of six new aircraft since the start of calendar 2023.
This month, Jetstar received its eighth Airbus A321neo LR with a ninth due in July – towards a total of 18 to be delivered by the end of next calendar year. These aircraft burn up to 20 per cent less fuel and are up to 50 per cent quieter than previous generation aircraft.
Qantas has received two new Boeing 787 Dreamliners since late April. A third aircraft, which will bring the 787 fleet to 14, is now expected to arrive in mid-July due to further delivery delays at Boeing.
Qantas’ eighth A380 is also expected to re-enter service in early July after engineering checks and cabin refurbishment.
Three QantasLink 717s have now been retired – representing 15 per cent of this fleet type – ahead of new Airbus A220s arriving later this year.
NETWORK
Qantas Group international capacity continues to climb back towards pre-COVID levels. Qantas and Jetstar have announced or resumed a number of routes over the past six weeks, including:
Qantas:
| Route | Launch date | Services per week |
| Sydney – Shanghai | 29 October 2023 | · Daily |
| Brisbane – Wellington | 29 October 2023 | · Daily |
| Brisbane – Honiara | 29 October 2023 | · Three |
| Perth – Rome* | 18 June 2023 | · Three |
| Sydney – New York | 14 June 2023 | · Three · Four from Oct |
| Melbourne – Hong Kong | 20 June 2023 | · Three · Four from mid-July · Daily from Oct |
| Sydney – San Francisco | 23 May 2023 | · Three |
* Seasonal service
Qantas Group Domestic capacity is now back to pre-COVID levels. Qantas will increase domestic services from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island and Whyalla in South Australia.
Jetstar:
| Route | Launch date | Services per week |
| Brisbane – Osaka | 2 February 2024 | · Four |
| Brisbane – Seoul | 1 February 2023 | · Three |
| Brisbane – Narita^ | 31 October 2023 | · Five · Daily from December |
| Sydney – Rarotonga | 29 June 2023 | · Three |
| Newcastle – Cairns* | 24 June 2023 | · Three |
| Brisbane – Ayres Rock (Uluru)* | 22 June 2023 | · Three |
^Service swapped from Gold Coast
*Seasonal service
Jetstar has also announced it will boost capacity on its Adelaide to Denpasar route, with two of the airline’s new A321neo LRs to be based in Adelaide, as well as increasing frequency on a number of routes, including:
- Brisbane – Auckland from four return services per week to daily from 29 October 2023
- Brisbane – Denpasar from seven to 10 return services a week from 1 February 2024
CUSTOMER
The Group continues to invest heavily in the customer experience as it switches from recovery to growth. Passengers are continuing to benefit from a number of new offers and initiatives:
- Qantas has renewed calls for customers to use their COVID-era travel credits with a Double Qantas Points offer and launched a new ‘Find My Credit’ tool to help locate bookings that are up to three years old. It has also simplified the process for customers to request a refund.
- In the past week Qantas has launched sales on its domestic and North American networks, with more than 30,000 discounted fares snapped up by customers. The domestic sale ends on Friday.
- Jetstar has also launched a number of sales across Australia and New Zealand, including its popular ‘Fly A Friend For Free’ campaign.
- Passengers on some Qantas flights to and from Singapore, Bali, Jakarta and Manila can enjoy fast and free WiFi while over Australia. This is available on B737s and selected A330s operating across nine routes.
- Qantas has recently expanded its Neighbour Free Seating product across 130 routes on its domestic network – or 70 per cent – following positive feedback on its trial. Planning is underway to expand the product to its international network.
- Qantas recently unveiled the entire cabin design of its Airbus A350s, which will operate non-stop
from the East Coast of Australia to New York and London from late 2025, including a new wellbeing zone.
- Following changes to its check-in, bag-drop and boarding gate closure times, plus improvement to supply chain issues for key aircraft parts, Jetstar has seen a significant improvement in its operational performance during June. The latest data shows Jetstar’s cancellation rate dropped again in the first three weeks of June, to be currently sitting around 2.9 per cent and its on-time performance has improved to around 70 per cent.
[1] Forecast domestic and international passengers on Qantas and Jetstar Airways over the holiday period from late June to late July.
