Australian national carrier Qantas plans to relaunch flights from Johannesburg to Perth in mid-2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The airline said that the new route is subject to meeting border agency requirements in Western Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new route would compete with South African Airways (SAA), which launched a route between Johannesburg and Perth in April this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Australian airline also announced that it will start operating an Airbus 380 flight from Johannesburg to Sydney, which will be the first time that the national carrier has operated a Superjumbo from Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The A380 will fly up to six times per week and see a near-doubling of capacity, with an extra 130,000 seats between South Africa and Australia annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Qantas A380 has capacity for 485 passengers across four cabins, with the introduction of the
Superjumbo seeing First Class on the route for the first time since 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qantas First has 14 individual suits arranged in an exclusive 1-1-1 configuration and convert into a 212-centimetre bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upguage will also exceed the number of Premium Economy seats available between the cities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mega aircraft also features an upper deck lounge for passengers in First and Business class, with booth-style seating for ten people, a self-service bar, and the option to order signature drinks and snacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The A380 flights have full passenger loads in both directions. The flights are also timed to connect in both directions with Qantas’s New Zealand services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The A380 flight crosses the southern Indian Ocean, and on a clear day, customers can often see Antarctica when flying a southerly route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flights from Johannesburg to Sydney will last 11 hours and 55 minutes, while flights from Sydney to Johannesburg will last 14 hours and 40 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Return fares from Johannesburg to Sydney are available from R19,560. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qantas also announced a new codeshare partnership with Airlink, which expands its inbound network in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Qantas will add the QF code on Airlink\u2019s domestic network, enabling seamless connectivity between Qantas flights to Johannesburg and nine South African destinations,” said the Australian airline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The carrier hopes to add additional Airlink destinations in nearby southern African countries over the coming months, pending regulatory approval.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
International flights taking off <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Qantas is not the only airline increasing its flights to and from South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said it will enhance its European winter schedule and add two additional routes to Cape Town from 17 December 2024 to March 30, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n German airline Lufthansa also started operating flights again between Johannesburg and Munich, Germany, earlier this month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The new flight between Johannesburg and Munich will operate year-round, with flights scheduled every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lufthansa also said that its direct flight between Cape Town and Munich will start in November 2024. However, it will only operate seasonally in the summer of Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lufthansa told BusinessTech that it would increase the Cape Town and Munich connection to daily departures starting next summer in the Southern Hemisphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead, Norwegian low-cost airline Norse Atlantic Airways will also launch a new route connecting London Gatwick Airport with Cape Town International Airport in late October 28. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Norse Atlantic said the new route aims to break the duopoly (Virgin Atlantic and British Airways) of the Cape Town and London route. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at local airlines, FlySafair also announced it would start flying between Cape Town and Windhoek, Namibia, on October 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201dWe have been wanting to break into the Windhoek market for a while. Still, the barrier, until now, has been aircraft availability,\u201d said Kirby Gordon, the Chief Marketing Officer at FlySafair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving an additional aircraft that we are basing in Cape Town is now enabling us to expand into the market with a competitive fare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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