Qantas connects Australia to Tonga with direct flights
It’s a hearty Mālō e lelei or a simple ‘G’day’ to Tonga with the Flying Kangaroo expanding its South Pacific network.
By Matt Lennon, August 18 2022
Direct flights with Qantas between Sydney and Tonga are now available to book, with the first scheduled passenger service taking off from 25 August 2022.
The weekly QF341 will take to the sky each Thursday from Sydney at 9:30am, with the 4.5-hour service touching down in Nukualofa just after 5pm.
Those returning on QF342 will push back at 6:35pm local time, pulling up at the gate back in Sydney at 9:20pm.
The Red Roo will fly an Airbus A330 on its new route, offering business and economy class on the twin-aisle aircraft. Qantas Frequent Flyers can also start planning their Tongan island escape, with Classic Reward business class seats starting from 41,500 points each way.
Business class Classic Reward business class seats start at 41,500 points.
Qantas has been flying to Tonga since December 2020 as part of the federal government’s Pacific Flights repatriation program, but since the country opened its borders from the beginning of August, new tourist links are now available.
A Qantas spokesperson said the new flights will help Australian-based Tongans reach friends and family back home more efficiently.
“We anticipate the Tonga services will be well-supported by both Tongan nationals and Australians and are excited to help strengthen family and community connections as well as boost tourism opportunities to this beautiful Pacific Island kingdom.”
The new service is the only direct flight between Australia and Tonga. The nation has previously been served by a pre-bankruptcy Virgin Australia, while it has also been possible to fly there with Fiji Airways and Air New Zealand.
The latter is still offering repatriation services only, so the new Qantas link will remove the need to connect in Nadi.
Visitors to the Pacific island nation will be able to enjoy some whale watching between July and October as newborn calves return to cooler waters with their parents. With more than 150 islands to explore, travellers will be spoilt for amazing snorkelling opportunities.
For a taste of island cuisine, no visit to Tonga would be complete without sampling some traditional ‘Ota ‘ika, which is raw fish served with coconut and lemon cream.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1224
I assume there is a lot of freight associated with this service. An A330 doesn't make sense otherwise.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2016
Total posts 60
Agree that an A330 doesn't make sense. They would be better running a 737 and increasing the frequency to two days a week in order to capture more of the tourist market wishing to take a short three to four day trip.
There must be a huge seasonal worker demand wishing to fly back and forth but this is possibly price sensitive and will do the layover in Fiji or Auckland.
12 Aug 2022
Total posts 11
Would love to see that A330 on the Bali route again!
08 Jul 2014
Total posts 13
The A330 is used so the crew can operate the service over and back. This is beyond the limitations of 737 crew.
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