A new deal with Alliance Airlines will help the Qantas Group meet an expected surge in local tourism demand once the country moves beyond sudden COVID-related border closures.
The new deal between Alliance and Qantas will give Qantas Group crew the opportunity to fly E190s with Alliance and give passengers more choice as domestic tourism takes off.
Alliance will provide the QantasLink network with flexible capacity using its recently acquired Embraer E190 aircraft – a 94 seat jet with a five-hour range – that is well suited to linking regional centres with smaller capital cities.
“We’ve worked with Alliance for many years and they have flown literally thousands of flights for Qantas over that time, with the same service and standards that customers expect when they buy a Qantas ticket.”
John Gissing, CEO of QantasLink
Tell me more…
Initial routes that Alliance will fly are expected to include Adelaide–Alice Springs, Darwin–Alice Springs and Darwin–Adelaide.
Passengers can expect an increase in frequency made possible by the size, range and economics of the E190 compared to the Boeing 737s that are currently used on these routes; the 737s will be redeployed elsewhere in Australia as part an ongoing ‘right aircraft, right route’ approach to the Group’s network.
What’s the deal?
Qantas has signed a three year deal with Alliance to access three E190s based in Darwin and Adelaide. The timing will depend on the rate of recovery in travel demand but is currently expected to start in June 2021, once the vast majority of the Qantas Domestic flying has returned to pre-COVID levels.
The agreement also provides flexibility to access an additional 11 (for a total of 14) E190 regional jets but also to switch off some (or all) of this capacity, depending on market conditions.
The E190 offers 10 seats in Business Class and 84 seats in Economy, with a range of about 4,500 kilometres.
CEO of QantasLink, John Gissing, said the deal reflected the kind of flexibility needed to respond to opportunities without committing any capital.
“We know this current climate of snap border closures will pass and we want to be ready for the recovery and for what is a structurally different market to what we had pre-COVID,” said Mr Gissing.
“The ability to switch on extra capacity with Alliance will help us make the most of opportunities in a highly competitive environment and having the right aircraft on the right route helps us deliver the schedule and network that customers want.”
John Gissing, CEO of QantasLink
Qantas owns just under 20 per cent of Alliance Airlines.