Qantas to step up international flying because of 'massive demand' from Australians

October 25, 2021: -On Friday, Qantas Airways said it would speed up plans to restart flights to many destinations and use bigger planes between “massive demand” for international flying as quarantine restrictions ease Australian citizens.

All 11,000 of the airline’s staff idled without pay, around half its workforce, will return to work by December as domestic and international flying returns to more normal levels, the airline said.

Qantas will bring the two flagship Airbus SE A380 super-jumbos in April and is talking with Boeing Co about delivering three new 787-9s in storage to accelerate its international flight plans.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said that the airline’s international sales were more robust than domestic sales for the first time since the pandemic began for four of the last five weeks. “There is a massive demand for Australians wanting to see their family and relatives,” he told reporters. “There is a massive demand for loved ones wanting to get together for Christmas. There is demand for people wanting to take that holiday that they have been looking forward to for nearly two years.”

Last week, the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, said it would allow the entry of fully vaccinated travelers from overseas from November 1 without the need for quarantine. However, the easing of strict entry controls will initially benefit only citizens and permanent residents.

On Friday, Neighboring Victoria state, home to Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne, announced a similar policy from November 1, paving the way for Qantas to bring forward international flights from Melbourne.

Qantas said it’s launching a new route from Sydney to New Delhi on December 6 and bringing forward flights for Singapore, Fiji, Johannesburg, Bangkok, and Phuket because of the New South Wales rule change.

Joyce said the airline was also hopeful Indonesia would relax quarantine rules for Australians, allowing its low-cost arm Jetstar to begin flights to Bali by Christmas.