Qantas has announced it will stop its direct flights to mainland China following a lack of demand. In place of the airline’s only direct route into China, the airline will fly Brisbane to Manila for the first time in 10 years, and fire up more flights to Singapore and India. With new routes added, we will see greater Qantas Business Class capacity added to Asia and connecting flights to Europe. We should also see oneworld member airlines such as Oman Air and Turkish Airlines benefit from this, allowing more capacity overall.

Suspension Of Sydney-Shanghai Flight Details

From 28 July 2024, flights to Shanghai will be suspended due to low demand. Qantas had resumed its Sydney-Shanghai service in October last year after it was paused during COVID-19, however, the demand has not increased as expected.

Travellers are still able to reach Shanghai and other destinations in China on Qantas flights to Hong Kong, with onward connections on partner airlines. Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn and redeem Qantas Points when travelling with partner airlines.

Those that have already booked flights to Shanghai from 28 July will be contacted by Qantas and offered a full refund. Alternatively they can contact Qantas or their agent who booked their ticket, to discuss rebooking on alternative flights.

Aircraft that have been used on this route by Qantas will be placed on other routes across Asia to combat demand to certain destinations.

Qantas International CEO, Cam Wallace spoke “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.”

New Routes From Brisbane To Manila

In light of cancelling existing routes, Qantas has announced a new international route, Brisbane to Manila. Beginning from 28 October 2024, this route will operate four days per week with the Qantas Airbus A330 aircraft. This will mark the first time Qantas has flown between Brisbane and Manila in more than 10 years.

As a result of adding this route to their network, we will see 100,000 more seats added between Australia and the Philippines each year.

Additional Capacity Added To Singapore And India

We will see Qantas increase Singapore's capacity by around 10%, giving more than 2,500 additional seats per week from Australia.

Sydney to Singapore will increase from 14 to 17 return flights per week from 11 December 2024, while Brisbane to Singapore will increase from 7 to 9 return flights per week from 27 October 2024.

A bonus of this route is that it’s timed to improve connectivity with Qantas’ daily service from Singapore to London, which means we’ll see overall travel time reduced to Heathrow by about 4 hours.

Flights from Sydney to Bengaluru will also be increased from 5 per week to daily. This will cater for the strong demand over the peak holiday season. The extra flights will operate between mid-December 2024 and late March 2025, adding over 12,000 seats between the two cities over the 4 month period.

If you’re looking to travel with Qantas to China or other global destinations, speak to an airfare specialist today about which options are best for you!