Qantas will upgrade its Sydney-Johannesburg route to an Airbus A380 from July 2024 as the airline ramps up international flying to beyond pre-pandemic levels.
The non-stop 14-hour trek is currently flown by a Boeing 787, so the double-decker superjumbo will mean almost twice as many seats in the sky – including substantial uplifts in both the business class and premium economy cabins, along with a fresh take on the upper deck lounge.
The South Afrcia-bound superjumbo is slated to take over as QF63/QF64 beginning July 8 2024, freeing up the Boeing 787 to appear on more US-bound routes.
Other schedule boosts announced today include
- Sydney-Auckland-New York will move to a daily service, up from the current four flights per week, from August 2024
- Sydney-Los Angeles flights will increase from eight to nine per week from July 2024, with a mix of Boeing 787s and Airbus A380s
- Melbourne-Los Angeles will see “more A380 flights on the route from July 2024”
- Sydney-Bali will be upgraded from a domestic Boeing 737 to a far superior twin-aisle Airbus A330 on a daily basis from October 2023
As of Monday afternoon these flights have yet to appear on the Qantas website but are expected to roll out overnight, with the airline advising “tickets will be available to purchase from Tuesday.”
Qantas and Jetstar combined now stand at around 80% of their pre-Covid international capacity levels; this is on track to reach 100% by March 2024, and surpass that milestone in July 2024.
“Hundreds of thousands of extra seats on our network is great news for our customers planning their next overseas trip,” says Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace.
“We know our customers are looking for great value and this additional capacity will put more downward pressure on fares.”
Driving the push will be the return of the final two A380s, with the ten-strong superjumbo fleet upgraded with new business class and premium economy seats.
Source: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qantas-sydney-johannesburg-a380
