Qantas bounces back to 90% domestic capacity, brings more airframes online to fuel high NZ demand

[jakeseven7]

.... And in more good news covered in another thread, the QF F lounges in Syd and Mel and the QF Premium Business lounge in BNE will reopen for the trans tasman bubble crowds

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Qantas Bounces Back To 90% Capacity, Additional NZ Flights Scheduled, More Fleet Brought Out Of Storage​

Qantas continues to recover from the travel downturn. On Thursday morning, the Qantas Group said their domestic division is roaring back to pre-downturn capacity levels. In an update today, Qantas said domestic capacity had increased beyond previous estimates to reach 90% of pre-downturn levels this quarter. Low-cost subsidiary Jetstar is expected to exceed 100% due to strong leisure demand.

All Qantas and Jetstar domestic crew are now back at work and the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320/A321 fleet are flying. A handful of Jetstar’s 787-8s will stay grounded, along with some Qantas A330s and the dozen-strong Qantas A380 fleet. All of Qantas’ distinctive Dreamliners are now back flying.

The travel bubble with New Zealand starts on Monday, and Qantas is getting considerable uplift from that. Between Qantas and Jetstar, more than 120 return flights a week will operate across the Tasman Sea. The airline has added even more flights from late May to fill gaps left in the market and meet increased demand over the ski season.

Full story:

Qantas Bouncing Back But CEO Warns Of Further Financial Losses

simpleflying.com

 

[Scr77]

This is great news, but the capacities claimed surprise me. Flew MEL - BNE 7.20pm yesterday. Flight wouldn’t have been 50%, business lounge quite and civilised. Out in Gen Pop, Very limited food options after 7pm.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Supposedly high demand, but yet QF has already cancelled some trans-Tasman flights in April and May 2021 that were only scheduled after the bubble was confirmed.

 

[Franky]

Supposedly high demand, but yet QF has already cancelled some trans-Tasman flights in April and May 2021 that were only scheduled after the bubble was confirmed.

That said, the aircraft they’re bringing back into service won’t be arriving tomorrow...

 

[TheInsider]

Supposedly high demand, but yet QF has already cancelled some trans-Tasman flights in April and May 2021 that were only scheduled after the bubble was confirmed.

A bit hard to get thousands of people flying there in a day, with only a couple of weeks notice...

 

[Rusty776]

Good to see travel increasing. Booked a J Reward to NZ in Early July... fingers crossed the F Lounge is the only lounge still open

 

[mviy]

I think it probably will be as I can’t see them adding additional international routes back for several months.

 

[dylarr]

Qantas also has 3 brand new Dreamliners that were flown direct from Boeing's factory to Victorville for storage late last year. I wonder if we'll see these activated anytime soon.

It's great to see that so many aircraft and their crew have been bought back online.

 

[jakeseven7]

So Qfd is now 100% online apart from some of the A330 fleet.

Does that mean that QFLink is 100% online? On my travels I haven’t spied any QFLink airframe languishing in far off parking bays....

 

[oz_mark]

Qantas also has 3 brand new Dreamliners that were flown direct from Boeing's factory to Victorville for storage late last year. I wonder if we'll see these activated anytime soon.

It's great to see that so many aircraft and their crew have been bought back online.

I don't think Qantas formally took delivery of them (and as I understand, the paintwork on at least one wasn't completed)

 

[Cazwa]

It would be nice if Qantas gave those of us in Perth A330 instead of 737 yo fly east. A330 are few and far between. Make a for a cough experience in business class. I hope they have turned on their entertainment again and food out of a box for BC. What an insult after paying 2k for a one way flight for what was basically s bus with wings.

 

[jakeseven7]

It would be nice if Qantas gave those of us in Perth A330 instead of 737 yo fly east. A330 are few and far between. Make a for a cough experience in business class. I hope they have turned on their entertainment again and food out of a box for BC. What an insult after paying 2k for a one way flight for what was basically s bus with wings.

There’s at least a couple of widebodies a day on Mel/Syd and they seem pretty sticky I’ve done a few recently no movements and had a nice business suite, so lets hope the mad hatter Premier over there stays calm, borders stay open and confidence to travel keeps increasing, more bookings, more demand, more A330’s come out of hibernation.

 

[jakeseven7]

Few more articles with some interesting points:

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CAPACITY WARS RETURN AS QANTAS TO FLY MORE AIRCRAFT THAN PRE-COVID​

Qantas domestic capacity will hit 90 per cent of pre-COVID levels in July and Jetstar will “exceed 100 per cent” due to “strong leisure demand”. The growth in domestic capacity is then expected to continue into FY22, with Jetstar reaching 120 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and Qantas at 107 per cent.

Qantas confirmed all its 787-9s have now been reactivated and QantasLink is also working closely with Alliance to operate three Embraer E190 aircraft in a couple of weeks to provide capacity on existing Qantas routes in northern and central Australia with plans to expand this arrangement to 14 E190 aircraft.

Comparatively Virgin's response has been muted after bankruptcy restructuring, projecting to only reach 80% of its mainline domestic capacity by the end of 2021. Virgin entered administration last year and is now pursuing a ‘hybrid model’, whilst arch rival Rex has begun an ambitious expansion of its new capital city routes, announcing last month it will challenge Qantas to fly Sydney–Canberra.

Capacity wars return as Qantas to fly more aircraft than pre-COVID

The announcement came minutes after Virgin pledged to hire 150 new cabin crew and lease ten new 737s because it was “committed” to restoring its pre-COVID market share.

australianaviation.com.au

SaltWire | Newfoundland & Labrador

News by location across Atlantic Canada.

www.thetelegram.com

Qantas sees domestic passenger traffic bouncing back to normal

Qantas Airways Ltd. said its passenger traffic in Australia has almost completely recovered, highlighting the potential for speedier travel rebounds than previously expected more than a year into the pandemic.

ajot.com

 

[Isolar]

Qantas confirmed all its 787-9s have now been reactivated

Curious what routes are they using the 787's on.

 

[TheInsider]

Curious what routes are they using the 787's on.

All the charter govt flights.

 

[Isolar]

Thanks, completely forgot about those.

 

[AIRwin]

Curious what routes are they using the 787's on.

You can also view it here:

Account Suspended

 

[jakeseven7]

All the charter govt flights.

Thanks, completely forgot about those.

Freight as well as charter.