Qantas will run an extra 21 return flights across the Tasman in December and January to cater for strong demand over the peak Christmas and New Year holiday period.
Between December 17 and 27, an extra five return flights will run between Sydney and Auckland (QF180/189), with three additional round-trips between Sydney and Christchurch (QF136/137).
Melbourne sees two extra return flights to Auckland during the same period (QF157/158), while Brisbane picks up a single Auckland return trip on December 20 (QF119/120).
Two existing Sydney-Auckland flights will also be upgraded from a Boeing 737-800 to a larger Airbus A330 aircraft on December 20 and 26 (QF143/146), while all of the additional services in December will be operated by the single-aisle Boeing 737-800.
Also served by the Boeing 737 in December are a further three flights between Melbourne and Wellington (QF173/QF174), an extra return service between Sydney and Wellington (QF159/160), and six additional flights In January between Sydney and Auckland – five under the QF180/189 flight numbers, and the sixth as QF146/149.
The moves comes after the Red Roo is set to slash up to 15 trans-Tasman flights from October between Auckland and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, with up to half of those flights being handed over to low-cost offshoot Jetstar.
Seasonal Airbus A330 flights from Perth to Auckland will also run from December 5 2014 through to April 26 2015.
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Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
07 Aug 2013
Total posts 248
Flying to AKL on dec 19th from Perth. Purposely went out of my way to book a muti stop ticket via East coast and fly on an Emirates A380 in J class. Paid a little bit more but will be worth it. Was a hard decision- B737 or an A380 hmm....
20 Aug 2012
Total posts 117
I completely agree. I can understand those Qantas frequent flyers or club members that have chosen Qantas as their primary carrier, selecting the 737. But why would anyone else choose a Qantas 737 (or Virgin 737 for that matter), when you can take an Emirates A380, or if you time it right a 777-300 with Air NZ across the Tasman.
Qantas P1
18 Jan 2012
Total posts 73
Not sure if anyone else saw, but last week LAN was selling $398 return flights SYD-AKL-SYD over the Christmas period on QF metal. No exclusion dates.
I wonder if these new flights are a result of QF planes filling up with low yielding pax who booked through LAN?
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