Today marks the restart of four routes on Qantas’ trans-Tasman network; Sydney to Queenstown direct and Wellington, Melbourne to Christchurch and Wellington, with Brisbane to Christchurch restarting tomorrow, 24 May.
Winter is coming, and Qantas is taking off with four, soon to be five, #ArrivalRevival trans-Tasman services.
All Qantas flights on the four routes today are full, reflecting the strong demand from Australians to rediscover New Zealand for their winter holidays.
As part of the restart, Qantas will operate the first international flight into Queenstown in 330 days, with QF121 scheduled to touch down from Sydney at 2.30 pm.
“The ramp-up of flights between Australia and New Zealand just in time for ski season is a shot in the arm for tourism off the back of a tough few years for local operators, and Queenstown is making a particularly strong comeback,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
The airline will operate up to 20 weekly services to Queenstown from Australia.
Flights from Melbourne and Brisbane to Queenstown are set to recommence on 18 June, with the addition of these flights seeing Qantas return to its entire pre-COVID trans-Tasman network.
Capacity on the route is expected to reach 110 per cent of pre-COVID levels by July, with Australian travellers eager to hit the famous South Island slopes, providing a boost for the New Zealand tourism industry.
Services to New Zealand are operated by a mix of Boeing 737-800 and wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft, which offer Business Suites with lay flatbeds.
Qantas says it is seeing strong demand in both directions across the Tasman, with New Zealanders travelling across Qantas’ extensive domestic and international network, including to and from London, Singapore and Bali.
To celebrate the return of quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel, Frequent Flyers can book any seat as a Classic Reward Seat, with every Qantas and Jetstar flight in May a Points Plane.
The airline says thousands of Frequent Flyers have taken up the opportunity to use their point to cross the Tasman so far, with redemptions on flights to and from Auckland proving particularly popular throughout the month.
For more information, visit qantas.com.au
