Qantas plans shake-up of Tokyo flights
Qantas is shifting its focus from Tokyo’s Narita airport in favour of Haneda.
By David Flynn, September 18 2024
Qantas is gearing up to make Tokyo’s Haneda Airport its primary base in the Japanese capital, in preference to the more distant Narita Airport.
Plans filed with Australia’s International Air Services Commission reveal the current daily flights from Melbourne and Brisbane to Tokyo Narita would shift to Tokyo Haneda, in line with Qantas’ Sydney-Tokyo Haneda flights.
However, with only one ‘daily slot pairing’ of take-off and landing spots for Haneda available, Executive Traveller understands Qantas will redirect its Sydney-Tokyo Haneda QF59/QF60 to Tokyo Narita.
Qantas is proposing its new Tokyo Haneda timetable will take effect from 30 March 2025, and “the capacity will be fully utilised by 30 April 2025.”
Here is Qantas’ flight schedule for Tokyo-Haneda services:
- QF61 Brisbane to Tokyo Haneda (departs 11.45am, arrives 8pm)
- QF62 Tokyo Haneda to Brisbane (departs 6.50am, arrives 4.45pm)
- QF79 Melbourne to Tokyo Haneda (departs 10.40am, arrives 8.15pm)
- QF80 Tokyo Haneda to Melbourne (departs 9.55pm, arrives 9.15am)
- QF25 Sydney to Tokyo Haneda (departs 8.30pm, arrives 5.20am)
- QF26 Tokyo Haneda to Sydney (departs 10pm, arrives 8.40am)
Fellow Oneworld member Japan Airlines offers a raft of connections from Haneda to other domestic airports across Japan, while also making its Haneda first class and business class lounges available to eligible Qantas passengers.
The opportunity for Qantas to add an extra flight to and from Tokyo Haneda follows Virgin Australia’s decision to scrap its Cairns-Tokyo flights.
Both Qantas and Virgin were granted the rights for one daily flight between Australia and Tokyo Haneda in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, alongside a similarly split allocation for ANA and Japan Airlines.
Of course, the pandemic changed all that, especially for Virgin Australia.
Not only did Japan shut its borders and push the Olympics back to 2021, but Virgin Australia collapsed and new owners Bain Capital scrapped the Airbus A330 jets assigned to the promised Brisbane-Tokyo flights, which were set to begin on March 31, 2020.
Virgin Australia eventually reclaimed the slot by launching Boeing 737 flights between Cairns and Tokyo Haneda in June 2023, only to announce in July 2024 the route was “no longer commercially viable,” citing lower-than-expected visitation from Japan as a key factor in its decision.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 469
So both BNE and MEL are moving to Haneda! Unexpected move, and comes at the cost of Qantas dropping one of its SYD-HND flights but maybe QF59 just wasn't popular enough and Qantas can move those passengers onto a JAL service. Certainly good from a cost perspective if it lets Qantas walk away from Narita entirely and just focus on Haneda.
23 Jul 2024
Total posts 14
Current 2x SYD-HND was really about peculiarity of slot availably and utilisation at HND and getting the optimal network effects.
Not sure it's a huge cost benefit to walk away from NRT entirely. Fixed costs are sales and marketing side are irrelevant (still Tokyo) while operationally it's not significant as they'll still have a sizeable JQ operation at NRT (BNE-NRT, CNS-NRT).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Oct 2016
Total posts 172
Remarkable! HND is such a better position and for QF to get BNE and MEL there actually gives then a significant advantage, they will make SYD-NRT cheaper for the leisure market, but that is fine, they will save to make the choice
23 Jul 2024
Total posts 14
Why the assumption that they're dropping NRT altogether. IASC filling says nothing about NRT. While it's probably correct to assume that NRT-MEL and NRT-BNE is moving to HND-MEL and HND-BNE, the IASC filling doesn't confirm this.
Similarly, they'll for from 2x SYD-HND 1x MEL-NRT 1x BNE-NRT to 1x SYD-HND 1x MEL-HND 1x BNE-HND. This doesn't rule out a 1x XXX-NRT.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 469
The flight numbers listed for the new HND services are the current NRT flight numbers. The only possibility would be to have the second daily SYD service become SYD-NRT.
23 Jul 2024
Total posts 14
Indeed, the most likely possibility.
22 Sep 2017
Total posts 84
Plus 1x BNE-NRT on JQ. Which suggests (possibly) the SYD-NRT would also change to JQ. Then they would have JQ into NRT for leisure travellers (with good connections to LCCs) and QF to HND as the premium service.
11 Sep 2015
Total posts 216
That'd be interesting, to see Jetstar duplicate Sydney-Tokyo but use Narita and aim at the more budget-minded crowd.
22 Sep 2017
Total posts 84
Actually I forgot to mention NRT is Jetstar Japan's hub with flights to a dozen cities in Japan plus a few short-haul Asian destinations.
23 Jul 2024
Total posts 14
Not sure why it would change to JQ. If you look at QF's previous IASC submission it clearly show's the tourist traffic to Qld, hence the JQ flights (BNE-NRT/KIX, CNS-NRT/KIX). Also, where are JQ going to get the aircraft from? The B787 fleet is jam packed and about to start a series of D-checks and refits.
25 Jun 2012
Total posts 62
I wonder if they would redeploy the A380 to HND and upguage the SYD flight?
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 469
Check the flight timings, that's a LOT of time for an A380 to be sitting on the ground doing nothing.
23 Jul 2024
Total posts 14
They wouldn't mind that. Just like they used to sit the B744 for 17 hours (or something like that). Maximising utilisation of A380s is no longer the name of the game since wrote them off the balance sheet with the big impairment charge during COVID. They're not pushing them hard at the moment with a lot of ground time at SYD and LAX.
That said, A380 is nearly impossible for them to operate to HND. HND has crazy restrictions on A380 use that all but eliminates Qantas operating it there. Limited to operating between 11pm and 6am. With only one A380 capable gate and no off-stand Code F parking, it must be in/out in 3 hours entirely between 11pm and 6am.
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
There are 2 gates (107 and 113) at HND T3 with 3 jet bridges (there had been 3 gates prior to covid).
No idea why they need 2 (formerly 3) gates that can take A380s when they only allow one on the ground at a time and only on the ground during the night slot period.
23 Jul 2024
Total posts 14
While there may be two gates, only one is available to be scheduled in the slot allocation for a Code F at terminal 3 in the current season. This is based on capacity declaration for upcoming IATA scheduling season. Apologies if my wording was ambiguous.
07 Oct 2012
Total posts 1252
The timings indicate that the plane flying the SYD to HND overnight will turn around to serve the HND to BNE daytime flight. They won't be using an A380.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 389
It isn’t as you can see by the timings, the flight coming from Sydney turns around and heads back to Brisbane.
11 Sep 2015
Total posts 216
So one of the two SYD-HND services will become SYD-NRT? Interesting!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Nov 2014
Total posts 354
It makes sense for BNE. QF to HND and JQ to NRT. One serves premium market for business people and another for leisure travelers.
Quite a smart move.
For MEL, this will give QF an advantage over JL.
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