Qantas is on the brink of announcing that it will resume two international routes from Western Australia later this year, with the return of Perth-Johannesburg and Perth-Auckland flights, sources say.
According to media reports, both routes will launch on 7 December and operate three times per week utilising Qantas’ 332-seat A330-200 aircraft.
In September, Qantas revealed its intention to recommence flights between Perth and Johannesburg in mid-2025, so a resumed South African route wouldn’t come as a surprise.
Last flown in March 2023, a PER-JNB service would not only boost two-way tourism between Western Australia and South Africa but also serve the large VFR (visiting friends and relatives) market, thanks to Perth’s large expat South African community. If confirmed, Qantas would join South African Airways as the only carrier to fly the route.
According to one report, flight QF65 will depart Perth at 1.30pm on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and arrive in Johannesburg at 6.45pm, with the return leg, QF66, leaving SA at 9.35pm and landing in WA at 1.30pm the next day.
A resumed service would also signify Qantas’ growing commitment to the African continent after the airline launched its first-ever A380 flights to Johannesburg (from Sydney) in September 2024.
WA-NZ return
Elsewhere, the flying kangaroo also looks set to restart its nonstop Perth-Auckland service, a route it last operated more than seven years ago, in January 2018. With the move, Qantas would go head-to-head with Air New Zealand on the route.
Sources say that flight QF111 will depart Perth at 5pm on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, and arrive in Auckland at 4.45am the following day. The return service, QF112, will take off from NZ at 8.30am on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, and touch down in WA at 11.30am.
A search of Qantas’ website doesn’t reveal the new services, but it’s been reported that reservations for both routes will open soon.
When asked about the possible new routes, Qantas told Karryon they are services “we’ve talked about the potential of, for a long time, quite publicly, but we don’t have anything to share or confirm at this stage”.
Other routes
Qantas recently launched its first-ever Darwin-Singapore service, a route set to transform travel for Northern Territory residents heading to Asia and Europe.
Meanwhile, subsidiary Jetstar kicked off a new international route of its own, with the airline’s first-ever flight between Cairns and Christchurch also recently taking off.
Easter record
Together with Jetstar, Qantas expects to carry more than 840,000 passengers over the Easter and ANZAC Day weekends, marking a 15 per cent increase on the same period last year. Read about that here.
