New regional and international flights for Australia

New flights to Australia

Flight connections and customer service to a wide range of destinations to and from Australia are being improved with a series of announcements from airline Qantas.

It has just introduced new direct flights from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) in a programme that is describes as ‘delivering unprecedented access to North America for Australians’.

The new service also stops at Brisbane. Flying time from Sydney to DFW is 15 hours 25 minutes, and flying time from DFW to Brisbane is 16 hours.

DFW is Qantas’ first new international destination since Buenos Aires in 2008. The service will initially operate four times per week, with a view to increasing the frequency in future. Through its code share partnership with American Airlines, Qantas is offering services beyond DFW to 54 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico including Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Washington, Toronto, Vancouver, Cancun and Mexico City.

‘This new service takes Qantas customers into the heart of the United States, with a wide range of options for onward travel. Dallas and Fort Worth are attractive destinations in their own right, combining rapid economic growth with Texas’ rich heritage,’ said Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce.

Meanwhile QantasLink has announced two new return services per week between Cairns and Weipa starting on 27 June. Having increased weekly services from 10 to 12 in February, the latest move will add a further 200 seats per week, or 13%, and grow frequency on the route to 14 return services per week.

‘QantasLink has operated to Weipa since 2001 and, particularly in recent years and months, we have responded to increased demand from the resources sector and local communities with additional services and adding capacity with the introduction of larger aircraft, particularly our new flagship 74-seat Bombardier Q400s,’ said Joyce.

QantasLink is Australia’s largest regional airline, with a network of 55 metropolitan and country destinations across all states and territories, as well as Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

The airline also announced that its Qantas Frequent Flyer would undergo a major round of programme enhancements to offer even more value to its 7.8 million members. ‘We recognise we operate in a very competitive environment which is why we are determined to ensure our Frequent Flyer programme is the most dynamic, flexible, user friendly and rewarding programme in the business. We asked our members what they value and they said a huge choice of partners to earn and use points with and the ability to earn more points,’ said Joyce.

The first new deal is with Australian telco giant Optus that will allow members the opportunity to earn points across Optus consumer and small business products and services.

The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is also set to roll out a range of changes including more options to earn points on an expanded range of Jetstar flights, an increase in the Premium Economy Cabin bonus from 10% to 25%, the Business Cabin bonus up from 25% to 50% and the First Cabin bonus up from 50% to 100%.

A new level of VIP recognition called Platinum One will be introduced in the final quarter of this year with even more benefits and exclusive services, including a dedicated team to look after travel needs every step of the way.

Tagged as: Australia, flights, frequent flyer, Qantas