Airline Routes

Airline Routes is a popular topic at the Australian Frequent Flyer. Your travel experience is determined in part by the route your select.

Qatar Airways Boeing 777 at Canberra Airport

Qatar Airways Stops Selling Flights to Canberra

Qatar Airways’ new route to Canberra could be dead in the water before it even started. In July of this year, Qatar Airways announced that it would launch daily flights from Doha to Canberra via Melbourne from 1 October 2022. But shortly before this route was due to launch, the Qatari airline announced that the … Continued

29 Oct 2022 Qatar Airways
Panoramic urban city aerial night view with crosstown traffic in ginza, tokyo, Japan

How Will Virgin Australia Launch Flights to Tokyo?

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Virgin Australia won a daily slot to operate flights to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Virgin prepared for months to launch daily Airbus A330-200 flights from Brisbane to Tokyo, which were to be operated in partnership with All Nippon Airways. The airline even began selling tickets and had planned a big … Continued

27 Oct 2022 Virgin Australia
Architecture of downtown of Johannesburg, South Africa

Qantas Pauses Perth-Johannesburg Ticket Sales

Update (25 October): Due to issues with Border Force and customs processing inbound passengers at Terminal 3 of Perth Airport, Qantas has cancelled its planned launch of Perth-Jakarta flights and the Perth-Johannesburg route will only run until March 2023 at this stage. Qantas has temporarily removed all Perth-Johannesburg flights from sale, as it finalises customs … Continued

19 Oct 2022 Qantas
Planet Earth with detailed relief is covered with a complex luminous network of air routes based on real data. Australia and New Zealand. 3D rendering. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Why International Flights Are So Expensive Right Now

If you’ve tried booking an international flight recently, you’ve probably noticed that flights to and from Australia are expensive right now. Award flight availability is also particularly limited at the moment. There are clearly a few factors at play which have combined to create a perfect storm of poor availability and high airfares. For example, … Continued

Jetstar 787 takes off

No Seats Available on Jetstar to Bali For Next 3 Weeks

Jetstar is not currently selling any seats on its flights between Australia and Denpasar for travel until 17 October 2022 – after the end of the school holidays. These seats were removed from sale more than a week ago and have not returned. While some flights are likely fully booked due to the school holidays, … Continued

29 Sep 2022 Jetstar
San Francisco

Qantas Delays San Francisco Relaunch Until March 2023

Qantas has delayed the restart of its Sydney-San Francisco route yet again, with the tentative restart date for QF73 and QF74 now pushed back to 27 March 2023. Prior to COVID-19, Qantas flew non-stop from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to San Francisco. These routes were all suspended during the pandemic – along with all other … Continued

5 Sep 2022 Qantas
Time Square - New York, USA

Qantas to Resume Sydney-New York Route in 2023

Qantas will return to the Big Apple in 2023, with a new one-stop service from Sydney to New York’s JFK airport via Auckland, New Zealand. Launching on 14 June 2023, Qantas flight QF3 will depart Sydney at 10.05am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in Auckland at 3.15pm. After a 105-minute turnaround in Auckland, the … Continued

25 Aug 2022 Qantas
Emirates Airbus A380 Premium Economy cabin

Emirates Delays Sydney-Christchurch Relaunch

Emirates has sadly delayed the return of Airbus A380 flights between Sydney and Christchurch, New Zealand. A few months ago, Emirates had committed to resuming its Dubai-Sydney-Christchurch route from 1 December 2022. But a recent schedule update now sees the fifth-freedom route returning from 27 March 2023 instead – four months later than previously planned. … Continued

18 Aug 2022 Emirates
Jetstar 787-8 Dreamliner

Jetstar Restarts Flights to Japan

Japan’s border may still be closed to independent tourists, but that hasn’t stopped Jetstar from restarting direct flights from Australia to Japan for the first time since the pandemic began! Jetstar began last week by restarting its Cairns-Tokyo route. The first flight back from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Cairns was almost completely filled by Japanese … Continued

25 Jul 2022 Jetstar
AirAsia will resume Airbus A330 flights from Kuala Lumpur to Australia and New Zealand

AirAsia X Challenges on Sydney-Auckland Route

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia X will launch flights between Sydney and Auckland in November 2022, bringing with it cheap Economy fares and Premium Flatbed seats at the front of the plane. The fifth-freedom flight across the Tasman will be a continuation of AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur-Sydney service, which briefly restarted in February this year after a two-year … Continued

20 Jul 2022 Other Airlines