Qantas Adds Additional Seats to International Routes

Updated: August 22, 2023, 2:21am CDT

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Aircraft Changes, Increased Frequencies
Final Thoughts

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Qantas is in the process of adding more seats to select international routes, showcasing the fact that demand truly has returned following the COVID-19 pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic, Qantas significantly cut routes to the land down under, and Australia was home to some of the most significant lockdowns worldwide. Over time, additional services were added, but nothing would bring it back to pre-pandemic levels. Now, Qantas is adding more than 250,000 seats worldwide on some of its busiest routes.

Aircraft Changes, Increased Frequencies

Qantas is adjusting frequencies and increasing the size of aircraft on a number of routes across its system, including these U.S. routes:

Melbourne (MEL) to Los Angeles (LAX) will now see an Airbus A380; the route is currently operated by a Boeing 787
Sydney (SYD) to Los Angeles (LAX) will go from 8 to 9 flights a week, operated by a Boeing 787 or an Airbus A380 depending on the day
Sydney (SYD) to New York (JFK) via Auckland (AKL) will increase to a daily offering, replacing the previous one offered through Los Angeles (LAX)

Other international changes include:

Sydney (SYD) to Bali (DPS) will move from a Boeing 737 to an Airbus A330, featuring fully-flat beds in business class
Sydney (SYD) to Johannesburg (JNB) will now see an Airbus A380, up from the Boeing 787 that has been operating the route for some time

Qantas business class seat A330 — Qantas is putting the A330 on the Sydney to Bali route. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

On some of these routes, that means a doubling of the previous amount of seats, which is a huge capacity increase. The Bali route, which was previously operated by a narrowbody aircraft, typically reserved for domestic services, will now see a widebody aircraft with flat-bed seats, which is really exciting for passengers on that service.

It’s likely that Qantas will increase the capacities on some of these routes even more as more and more passengers want to travel to and from Australia. We can also look forward to the nonstop Sydney to New York City route (known as Project Sunrise) which is slated to launch in the coming years.

Hot Tip:

Even with more seats on many of these routes, don’t expect more award seats to be released. Qantas is notoriously stingy with releasing award seats.

Final Thoughts

Qantas is putting larger planes on a number of flights from Australia, and in some cases is doubling capacity. This will provide more opportunities to visit Australia, with tickets now bookable.