Qantas is planning to open routes to Bengaluru (BLG) in southern India and Seoul Incheon (ICN) later this year.
The Australian flag-carrier is also entering into a codeshare agreement with IndiGo to enable connectivity in India beyond BLR and New Delhi (DEL) for Qantas passengers. Qantas serves DEL 5X-weekly from Melbourne (MEL).
The carrier will launch 4X-weekly flights between Sydney (SYD) and BLR on Sept. 14 using an Airbus A330 aircraft. It is the first time Qantas will serve the route. The airline said no carrier has ever operated between Australia and southern India.
Qantas said the codeshare accord with IndiGo will give its passengers “one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities,” adding: “The proposed agreement will mean Qantas passengers can transit seamlessly from Qantas flights in Bengaluru, Delhi or Singapore (SIN) onto IndiGo services to … major Indian cities as well as smaller ones such as Pune (PNQ) and Goa (GOI).”
IndiGo has said its international routes are relaunching in phases throughout April.
South Korea Service
Qantas and LCC subsidiary Jetstar both plan to launch flights to ICN this year. Qantas has not served Seoul since 2008.
Jetstar will start a SYD-ICN route with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft from Nov. 2. The service will operate 3X-weekly.
Qantas mainline will launch flights on the SYD-ICN route from Dec. 10 using an A330 aircraft. Frequencies on the service were not revealed.
Qantas Group noted its international capacity in April is expected to be more than 40% above April 2020.
“Sydney is one of the world’s truly global cities and these new [nonstop] flights to India and Korea will make it easier for millions of people to come here,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement, adding: “Demand for our international flights has rebounded since borders reopened, and that’s giving us the confidence to launch these new routes.”
Regarding service to ICN, Joyce said: “South Korea is Australia’s fourth largest trading partner and Koreans see Sydney as one of the top tourism destinations. With expected strong business, premium leisure and low-cost travel demand on the route, we see an opportunity for both Qantas and Jetstar to fly on the route.”
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