Qantas cuts China flights on falling demand
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The news: Qantas has suspended its Sydney-Shanghai flights, its only direct routes to mainland China, and added a new route from Brisbane to Manila, as part of a number of changes to its Asia network.
The context: The airline said it will suspend flights from Sydney to Shanghai from 28 July due to low demand and recommended travellers instead fly to mainland China through Hong Kong. It resumed the service in October last year after it was paused during Covid, but it said "demand has not recovered as anticipated".
Qantas said it will continue to monitor the Australia-China market and look to return to Shanghai when demand has recovered.
Meanwhile, Australia's flag carrier has announced a new route between Brisbane and Manila, which will begin operating four days per week from 28 October and add 100,000 more seats between Australia and the Philippines each year.
Qantas will also increase flying to Singapore "by around 10%", offering more than 2,500 additional seats per week between Australia and the Lion City. Elsewhere, flights from Sydney to Bengaluru will increase from five per week to daily to cater for strong demand over the peak holiday season, between mid-December 2024 and late March 2025.
What they said: Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said: “Since COVID, the demand for travel between Australia and China has not recovered as strongly as expected. In some months, our flights to and from Shanghai have been operating around half full.
“That’s why we’ve decided to suspend this route and boost flying to other popular destinations with a new route from Brisbane to Manila and additional flights to Singapore and Bengaluru. This will create more choice for our corporate and leisure customers and make it even easier for them to access the places they need to travel to in Asia.
“We’ll continue to maintain a presence in China through our partners and our existing flights to Hong Kong and look to return to Shanghai in the future.”
The source: Qantas media release
