Just under a week after hitting the unexpected pause button for sales on its new flight service from Perth to Johannesburg and Perth to Jakarta, Qantas has formally resumed sales for one. However, the other route's fate is not as fortunate. For passengers eagerly to fly on the Perth-Jakarta route in a month's time, flight services will not happen as the flag carrier pulls the plug.

The initial hype

The announcement of new flights from Perth to Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and O.R. Tambo International Airport came earlier this year in June in light of increasing tourism and trade demands between the two countries. The new route launches were also supported by the Australian government's 'Reconnect with WA' package, which aimed to connect the region more with the rest of the world.

In fact, the Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Alan Joyce, celebrated the launch in a joint press conference with Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan. Joyce said at the time about the launch to Jakarta:

"Indonesia is a rapidly growing economy that's home to more than 270 million people, and these new flights will support the growing trade and tourism links between Australia and Indonesia. The new route will also provide a new gateway for travelers looking to explore Indonesia as they connect to cities such as Surabaya and Medan."

The well-anticipated flights were expected to launch next month on November 1st for Johannesburg, utilizing the flag carrier's Airbus A330s for thrice-weekly flight services. And towards the end of next month, on November 30th, flights to Jakarta were supposed to commence, utilizing the flag carrier's Boeing 737-800 aircraft on a thrice-weekly schedule.

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The sudden pause

Unfortunately, all was going well for both Qantas and eager passengers until sales for the Perth-Jakarta route launch were temporarily paused alongside the Perth-Johannesburg route, another exciting new launch on the airline's international network. The oneworld alliance member airline had cited operational constraints as the reason behind this change, primarily at Perth Airport.

The problem came as Qantas had to split its arrivals between Terminals 1 and 3 at Perth Airport, even though T3 is where the flag carrier operates all domestic and international flights. In a statement addressing the split, Qantas said:

"Infrastructure constraints at Terminal 3 make it challenging for various agencies to deliver the levels of border security and biosecurity screening required to process passengers from some destinations, including South Africa and Indonesia."

With these security concerns, Qantas has been discussing possible walkarounds with the Australian Border Force Agency and other government departments. Unfortunately for passengers, the talks have proved fruitful for only one of the two high-profile international routes, albeit only to a certain extent.

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The disappointing results

For passengers looking forward to the Perth-Johannesburg route, the good news is flights will take off as planned on November 1st. The bad news is that the route will only be available until March, before being suspended until further notice. Concerning the airport situation, QF65 to Johannesburg will always depart from Terminal 3.

However, from November 1st until January 15th, QF66 from Johannesburg will land at Perth Airport's Terminal 3. Passengers with connecting Qantas flights will clear customs and immigration at Terminal 3 and move onward to their connections.

Passengers with Perth as their final destination will be bussed from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 to clear customs. Then, from January 16th till March 25th, QF66 will land at Terminal 1 and be able to clear everything from there. Meanwhile, passengers with Qantas flight connections will be bussed to Terminal 3.

Sadly, for passengers looking forward to the Perth-Jakarta launch, takeoff will not happen as planned, as it seems the operational constraints could not be walked around. Instead, the Australian carrier has pulled the plug on the route, and is planning to increase its Perth-Singapore flight services from seven to 10 weekly flights, which depart from Terminal 3.

What do you think of the outcome for both routes? Let us know in the comments below.

• 

  Qantas

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  QF/QFA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Brisbane Airport, Melbourne Airport, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport

  Year Founded:

  1920

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Alan Joyce

  Country:

  Australia

• 

  Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  CGK/WIII

  Country:

  Indonesia

  CEO:

  Muhammad Awaluddin

  Passenger Count :

  54,496,625 (2019)

  Runways :

  07R/25L - 3,660m (12,008ft) | 07L/25R - 3,600m (11,811ft) | 06/24 - 3,000m (9,843ft)

  Terminals:

  Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 | Terminal 4 (planned)