• 

  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

After years of rumors, speculation, and dash hopes, Qantas has confirmed it will begin flying between Perth and Johannesburg later this year. The airline will also start flights from Perth to Jakarta. With the addition of existing services to London, Singapore, and Rome, the flights mark a substantive return to the Western Australia capital city by Qantas international services after a long period of neglect.

By December, Qantas will fly to five international ports from Perth

On Friday morning, amid a series of announcements from Qantas, the airline said it would start three times a week flights between Perth (PER) and Johannesburg (JNB) from November 1 and three times a week flights between Perth and Jakarta (CGK) from November 30. An Airbus A330-200 will fly the PER-JNB route, while the Boeing 737-800 will service the PER-CGK run.

Notably, both flights are happening because of unspecified support from the Western Australian Government's AU$195 million Reconnect WA package. The flights also mark a thaw in a litigious relationship between Qantas and Perth Airport and a more recent brawl between Qantas and the Western Australia Government over the state's hardline border closures. But that's all water under the bridge, and all parties are pumping out the compliments today.

"We're pleased that we've been able to reach an agreement on the Jakarta and Johannesburg routes and will be working closely with the local Qantas team to ensure they are a success," says Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown.

"Western Australia has become an increasingly important part of our international network, and we're really excited to be launching two more routes from Perth," said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce

"We've worked with Qantas and Perth Airport to help make these routes a reality, and I want to acknowledge both Perth Airport and Qantas for their cooperative approach to deliver these flights," said Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan. Still, the Premier would probably feel obliged to say nice things after enjoying a flight to Rome as a guest on the new Qantas Dreamliner service out of Perth this week.

Discover more aviation news here.

Three times a week Qantas flights to Johannesburg and Jakarta

Pushing back at 15:00 every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from November 1, QF65 will head out over the Indian Ocean for the 11-hour and 15-minute flight to Johannesburg, landing at 20:15 on the same day. The plane will spend a short time on the ground before turning around to operate QF66 back to Perth. That flight will depart JNB at 22:00 and take just under 10 hours on the east-bound run, landing at Perth at 13:55 the following day. Qantas schedules posted online indicate the A330-200 will service this route. Qantas's fleet of A330-200s offers a 2-4-2 configured economy class and a 1-2-1 configured business class.

The far less swanky Boeing 737-800 will service the shorter flights between Perth and Jakarta. The jet seats 12 passengers in a 2-2 configured recliner-style business class cabin and 162 passengers in the 3-3 configured economy class cabin. QF53 will leave Perth at 19:05 every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday from November 30 for the four-and-a-half-hour run up to CGK, landing at 22:35. Again, it's a short and sharp turnaround for the plane. QF54 will leave Jakarta at 23:55 that same evening and land in Perth at 05:10 the next day.

With both South African Airways and Garuda Indonesia still absent from Perth (and potentially likely to stay absent for some time, if not permanently), Qantas will enjoy sole operator status on both routes. Qantas already flies to Johannesburg and Jakarta from Sydney on Australia's east coast.

"International travel demand continues to rebound as people make up for two years of closed borders," says Mr Joyce. "Our direct flights from Perth to London and Rome are selling really strongly, which gives us the confidence to add new routes from our western hub."