Qantas Group announces new flights to Bengaluru and Seoul

The Qantas Group has announced new flights to Bengaluru, India and Seoul, South Korea.

Qantas announces Bengaluru flights

Starting 14th September 2022, Qantas will operate 4-flights-a-week between Sydney Airport and Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. The flights will run with the following schedule:

• Sydney-Bengaluru
• Departure time: 09:30
• Arrival time: 16:55
• Flight time: 11 hours and 55 minutes
• Flight number: QF67
• Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays

• Bengaluru-Sydney
• Departure time: 18:55
• Arrival time: 10:20 (the next day)
• Flight time: 11 hours and 15 minutes
• Flight number: QF68
• Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays

These flights will be operated by Airbus A330-200 aircraft featuring lie-flat Business Class seats and standard Economy Class seats. These will be the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline. Qantas says that with a population of 13 million people, the Bengaluru community has strong connections to Australia for both business travel and people visiting friends and relatives. These trade connections are expected to strengthen following the recent announcement of the Australia-India free trade agreement.

Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas Group, said:

Sydney is one of the world’s truly global cities and these new direct flights to India and Korea will make it easier for millions of people to come here. It’s clear that Australia is back on the map for international travellers. Demand for our international flights has rebounded since borders reopened, and that’s giving us the confidence to launch these new routes together with the marketing support from Destination New South Wales. The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement is a driver of travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people.

Qantas will continue to operate up to 5-flights-a-week between Melbourne and Delhi, making it the only airline offering direct flights between Australia and both northern and southern India.

Codeshare with Indigo

Qantas has also revealed that it intends to enter into a codeshare agreement with Indigo, India’s largest domestic carrier, which will give customers improved one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities. The proposed agreement will mean Qantas passengers can transit easily from Qantas flights in Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore onto Indigo services to other major Indian cities as well as smaller ones such as Pune and Goa.

Under the planned agreement, Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting Indigo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage.

Qantas passengers travelling on Indigo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks. The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com from late April 2022.

Alan said:

Our new direct flights to Bengaluru, combined with the planned codeshare with IndiGo, have the potential to reshape the way many people travel between Australia and India.

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New flights to Seoul, South Korea

Starting 2nd November 2022, Jetstar, the low-cost subsidiary of Qantas, will operate 3-flights-a-week between Sydney Airport and Seoul Incheon International Airport with the following schedule:

• Sydney-Seoul
• Departure time: 12:00
• Arrival time: 20:15
• Flight time: 10 hours and 15 minutes
• Flight number: JQ47
• Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays

• Seoul-Sydney
• Departure time: 22:00
• Arrival time: 10:05 (the next day)
• Flight time: 10 hours and 5 minutes
• Flight number: JQ48
• Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays

These flights will be operated by Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.

Starting 10th December 2022, Qantas will also operate 3-weekly flights between the two cities with the following schedule:

• Sydney-Seoul
• Departure time: 09:35
• Arrival time: 18:20
• Flight time: 10 hours and 45 minutes
• Flight number: QF87
• Frequency: Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays

• Seoul-Sydney
• Departure time: 20:00
• Arrival time: 08:20
• Flight time: 10 hours and 20 minutes
• Flight number: QF8698
• Frequency: Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
• Note: This flight is operated by Asiana Airlines’ Boeing B777

These flights will be operated by Airbus A330 aircraft lie-flat Business Class seats and standard Economy Class seats. The Australian flag carrier states that the launch of these new direct services recognises the increasing popularity of South Korea as a must-see destination for Australians, with its rich cultural history, vibrant nightlife, and incredible food. In return, South Korean travellers – who pre-COVID travelled more frequently than any other nation in the Asia Pacific – consistently rank Australia as the top destination they want to visit.

Alan 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.

International resumption in full swing

Since Australia’s borders re-opened last November, led by New South Wales, the Qantas Group has carried almost 500,000 passengers on its international services across 27 international routes, with another 6 routes restarting next week. Group international capacity is expected to reach more than 40% of pre-COVID capacity in April.

Qantas has now added six new overseas routes in the past six months, including Perth-Rome and Melbourne-Delhi, Melbourne-Dallas Fort-Worth and Darwin-Dili as it taps into new markets.

All three new routes announced today are being supported by the NSW Aviation Attraction Fund, which is co-funded by the State Government and Sydney Airport. Kempegowda International Airport has also supported Qantas’ Sydney-Bengaluru flights.

Meanwhile, Qantas recently announced nonstop flights between Melbourne and Dallas.

Featured image by Qantas

What do you think of Qantas announcing flights to Bengaluru and Seoul and Jetstar announcing flights to Seoul? Let me know in the comments section below.

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