Qantas Increases A380 Services Between Melbourne and Los Angeles
Qantas Airways today announced it would introduce six A380 services per week between Los Angeles and Melbourne, in addition to existing daily A380 service between Los Angeles and Sydney. At present, three return services between Los Angeles and Melbourne each week are operated by the Qantas A380. This will increase to four services per week after Qantas' ninth A380 is delivered and to six per week after its tenth is delivered
Qantas currently has six A380s in service. It expects to take delivery of its seventh in the final quarter of 2010 and to have received the tenth and final aircraft by March 2011.
Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Alan Joyce, said the steady growth in A380 operations would add capacity and allow more customers to experience Qantas' award-winning product and service on the aircraft. Notably, Qantas' A380 has recently been recognized as "World's Best Premium Economy Class" at the Skytrax 2010 World Airline Awards.
"The Airbus A380 is the flagship of the Qantas fleet," Mr. Joyce said. "With product and interiors designed by Qantas Creative Director, Australian designer Marc Newson, it offers customers unprecedented levels of space and comfort.
"Los Angeles-Melbourne is an important trunk route for Qantas, so we have targeted an increased frequency of A380 services to serve this significant American market.
Qantas also announced it would launch a new three year, $44 million partnership with Tourism Australia to market Australia internationally as a tourist destination, as well as a number of other important initiatives on its international network:
- Qantas services between Melbourne and London will increase from two return services per week to daily services. This will increase from two to five services per week after Qantas' eighth A380 is delivered, six services perweek after its ninth is delivered and daily services when its tenth A380 arrives.
- Qantas services between Sydney and Johannesburg will increase from six per week to daily from 21 September 2010 (South African Airways will continue to codeshare on all these services);
- Qantas will expand its codeshare on British Airways services between London Heathrow and Europe to include six new destinations: Rome, Milan, Toulouse, Prague, Warsaw and Budapest (available for sale from 14 June and for travel from 21 July 2010). This will take the number of Qantas codeshares on BA services beyond London to 29 destinations in the United Kingdom and Europe. Qantas will also increase the frequency of its codesharing on services between Heathrow and Nice, Stockholm and Amsterdam. The expanded arrangement follows the authorization earlier this year of the Joint Services Agreement between Qantas and BA for a further five years from 2010.
- From November 2010, Qantas will upgrade its four-times-weekly service between Sydney and Manila (including one service per week via Brisbane) from a Boeing 767 aircraft to an Airbus A330 aircraft, delivering more capacity and a higher level of product and service for customers on the route.
"Together, these initiatives are a comprehensive demonstration of the strength and depth of Qantas' international offering in terms of network, frequency and service," Mr. Joyce said.
Source: Qantas Airways