Tag: well

Qantas Adds New Routes to North Coast for Holidays by the Sea

February 18, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Three new routes to Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina)
Additional seats to Coffs Harbour from Sydney for April school holidays
Sale fares on new routes from $129 one-way

Qantas has today announced it will add three new routes and extra seats to the New South Wales north coast to support growing demand for holidays in Australia. From 1 April 2021, Qantas will launch three new routes to both Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay (Ballina).

Melbourne to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate daily with Qantas’ Boeing 717 aircraft, adding more than 1,750 seats on the route each week.

Brisbane to Coffs Harbour – flights will operate four days per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft, adding around 600 seats on the route each week.

Canberra to Byron Bay – Qantas’ first ever direct service connecting the two destinations, offering two flights per week with the turboprop Q400 aircraft. Flights will initially operate in April and Qantas will look to continue the service from July in line with demand.

More seats will also be added between Sydney and Coffs Harbour with the introduction of Qantas’ larger two-class B717 aircraft during the April school holidays, operating alongside the Q400 which also operate on the route. This will see Qantas offer around 500 extra seats on the route each week (a total of 4,300 seats), and the option to travel in Business.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing said these new routes would provide Australians with more options to plan their next holiday in their own backyard.

“The beautiful coastal hubs of Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour continue to be incredibly popular with travellers, so it makes sense to provide direct connections from other capital cities to make them even more accessible.

“Travellers from Canberra can spend more time on the beach and less time on their journey with our direct service to Byron Bay.

“We’ll be promoting these new flights to millions of our frequent flyers across the country and think they’ll enjoy the benefits of our premium service, including complimentary food and drinks, baggage and lounge access before they fly out.

Qantas is offering special fares for flights on the new routes from $129 one-way for periods of travel between April and October, available at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 11:59pm 21 February 2021, unless sold out prior.

Qantas currently operates up to 20 return flights per week between Sydney and Ballina Byron Bay and 28 weekly return flights between Sydney and Coffs Harbour.

The announcement follows a suite of customer initiatives unveiled last week, including a boost to flexibility allowing unlimited flight changes until at least January 2022.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qantas has introduced a number of initiatives improve safety and peace-of-mind when travelling domestically through its Fly Well program, including masks on board, hand sanitising stations and enhanced aircraft cleaning.

Qantas Adds More Travel Options for Customers Across Australia

December 17, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Qantas has today announced a major expansion to its regional network, adding seven new routes across New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, in response to customer demand.

The announcement means Qantas will be flying to five more destinations across Australia than it was pre-COVID (up from 57 to 62). The airline also today begins flying direct from Sydney to Merimbula on the New South Wales Sapphire Coast for the first time.

NEW ROUTES

Route	Start date	Frequency (return flights per week)
Sydney – Griffith	1 Feb 2021	Daily
Melbourne – Newcastle	1 Feb 2021	Twelve
Melbourne – Merimbula	1 Feb 2021	Four
Melbourne – Mount Gambier	28 March 2021	Five
Melbourne – Wagga Wagga	28 March 2021	Four
Melbourne – Albury	28 March 2021	Four
Adelaide – Mount Gambier	28 March 2021	Five

Qantas is offering special fares for flights on the new routes from $125 one-way, available at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 20 December 2020, unless sold out prior.

The flights will largely be operated by the airline’s 50-seat Q300 turboprop aircraft, with upgraded cabin interiors, adding more than 320,000 seats to these regional destinations each year.

Qantas has already introduced a number of initiatives to encourage customers to book with  greater flexibility, as well as to improve safety and peace-of-mind when travelling domestically through its  Fly Well program.

ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS

– Melbourne-Gold Coast weekly flights will double – from daily to twice daily – from April 2021 with the new schedule to cater for both corporate and leisure travellers.

– Sydney-Orange flights will increase from three days per week to daily from February 2021.

– Melbourne-Launceston flights will be upgraded from a Q400 aircraft to a larger Boeing 717, adding more than 400 seats on the route each week.

– A number of seasonal routes originally scheduled for the summer have been extended to operate year-round, including Perth-Hobart, Canberra-Hobart, Sydney-Merimbula and Brisbane-Port Macquarie.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing said these new routes were a great opportunity for travellers to explore the best of regional Australia.

“As the national carrier, we have an important role to play in driving tourism and supporting the industry’s recovery,” said Mr Gissing.

“Before COVID, more than 11 million Australians travelled overseas each year, so these flights will help convert some of these international trips into domestic holidays instead.

“We know there is significant pent up demand for travel. These new flights will help more Australians explore some of the incredible places in their own backyard and drive tourism, which is so vital to the local economies of regional areas.

“We’ll be promoting these new flights to millions of our frequent flyers across the country in the lead up to the flights commencing next year.

“We’re also pleased to be able to offer locals more choice and competitive fares on these routes, most of which have been monopolies for years.”

Since domestic border restrictions started to ease in July, Qantas has announced or commenced flying on 13 new routes across Australia. Today’s announcement brings that number to 20.

Qantas has been progressively “waking up” its domestic and regional aircraft to support this new flying, with the vast majority of the airline’s regional fleet expected to be operational by early 2021.

“All our aircraft carry fixed costs, regardless of whether they’re grounded or not. We’d rather get as many aircraft back in the air as we can because it’s better for our business, our customers and gets more of our people back to work,” added Mr Gissing.

Qantas flights continue to have complimentary baggage and food and drink included with every seat. The airline has now opened 30 of its 35 domestic and regional lounges across its network.

Today is the last day to register for Qantas’ Status Fast Track initiative that has seen thousands of members from other airlines switching to Qantas Frequent Flyer to take advantage of the national carrier’s extensive lounge and flying network.

Qantas is also offering customers the opportunity to join its Frequent Flyer program for free until 31 January 2021 via qantas.com/freejoin. Travellers will be able to earn Qantas Points and Status Credits on the new routes as well as using their points to book flights.

Qantas to Give Final 747 Jumbo Jet a Farewell Fit for a Queen

July 9, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Qantas has announced a program of events to farewell its last remaining Boeing 747 and provide Australians the opportunity to say goodbye to the much loved “Queen of the Skies” ahead of its retirement from the national carrier’s fleet.

The airline will operate three one-hour “farewell jumbo joy flights” departing from Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, in response to requests from employees and customers for one final chance to fly on the aircraft.

Qantas 747 Fleet Captain Owen Weaver said the 747 has a special place in the hearts of many Australians.

“The 747 has been a magnificent aircraft and it’s fitting that we celebrate the end of five decades of history-making moments for the national carrier and aviation in Australia,” Captain Weaver said.

“Since the first 747 joined the Qantas fleet in 1971, these aircraft have operated numerous rescue flights to bring Australians home during times of crisis and provided a safe passage for many travellers taking their first international flight to or from Australia.

“These three flights will offer the final opportunity to fly on the Qantas 747 before it leaves, with some of our frequent flyers and aviation enthusiasts as fond of the aircraft as we are, having spent thousands of hours onboard over the years.

“There is an enormous amount of nostalgia and affection associated with our 747 and for those who miss out on a seat on the flight, they will at least be able to catch a glimpse of the aircraft as it takes to Australian skies for the last time.”

The flights will go on sale at midday on Wednesday 8 July on Qantas.com and will operate on Monday 13 July (Sydney), Wednesday 15 July (Brisbane) and Friday 17 July (Canberra). Economy fares cost $400 and a small number of Business Class tickets will be available for $747 with additional extras included.

Seats will be limited to maximise passenger comfort (in line with other previously operated joy flights).

The flights will be operated on a cost-recovery basis and profits will be donated to the HARS Aviation Museum at Albion Park (Wollongong) and the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach to support their efforts to preserve and promote the 747 legacy for future generations. Both museums have a Qantas 747 on public display.

The final 747-400 in the fleet will depart Sydney at approximately 2pm on 22 July 2020 as flight QF7474.

Prior to its final departure on the 22nd July, Qantas will host a hangar farewell event for employees.

Note: The farewell jumbo jet joy flights will operate with Fly Well protocols in place.

ATR Releases 2019 Results

May 14, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

ATR performed well in 2019. We received 79 orders and delivered 68 aircraft for a book-to-bill of more than one. The turnover for the year was $1.6 billion and was boosted by a strong performance from our Services.

In 2020, the aviation industry is facing an unprecedented challenge that will last well beyond the current year. It is too early to understand the full impact on our backlog, however we have not had any cancellations to date.

Currently, 40% of ATR aircraft around the world continue to fly, playing a vital role in humanitarian missions and the transportation of essential goods to the remotest areas.

Naturally, during this time, ATR continues to support airlines 24/7.

Cargo is becoming increasingly important and we have developed a solution allowing airlines operating ATR aircraft to quickly and temporarily convert to a light freighter configuration, allowing them to unlock potential operations.

During this crisis, ATR is not standing still. While our major concern is always the safety and health of our employees and subcontractors, our manufacturing sites have never closed, and we have implemented a very strict health protocol that has allowed us to continue critical activities. We remain committed to the delivery of our new programmes, the ATR 72-600F freighter and the ATR 42-600 STOL. The first deliveries of our new cargo variant will happen this year.

ATR believes that regional aviation will resume its activities faster than international air traffic, because it will have a huge role to play in the recovery of the global economy, connecting communities around the world with necessary supplies.

Air Canada Provides Update on Ongoing COVID-19 Response

March 19, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Air Canada said today that it will gradually suspend the majority of its international and U.S. transborder flights by March 31, 2020 in response to decisions by national governments, including Canada and the United States, to close borders and restrict commercial aviation as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Subject to further government restrictions, the airline intends to continue to serve a small number of international and U.S. trans-border destinations from select Canadian cities after April 1, 2020. The airline also intends to continue serving all provinces and territories of Canada after that date, albeit with a significantly reduced network.

All schedule changes can be found at www.aircanada.com.

International and U.S. transborder services

In order to facilitate the continued repatriation of citizens to their home countries, including Canadians back to Canada, and to support the essential movement of needed goods and cargo during the crisis, Air Canada intends to continue to operate a limited number of international “air bridges” between one or more of its Canadian hubs and the cities of London, Paris, Frankfurt, Delhi, Tokyo and Hong Kong from April 1 until at least April 30. This will reduce its international network from 101 airports to six.

As to U.S. transborder services, given the decision by the U.S. and Canadian governments today, from April 1, Air Canada will reduce its transborder network from 53 airports to 13, subject to further reductions based on demand or government edicts. The cities with continued service will be: New York (LGA and EWR), Boston, Washington, D.C. (IAD and DCA), Chicago, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

Domestic Canada network

Air Canada intends to continue to serve all provinces and territories of Canada, reducing its domestic network from 62 airports to 40 through a reduced network during the period April 1 to 30, subject to further reductions based on demand or government edict.

For information on Air Canada’s schedule beginning April 1, 2020 please see www.aircanada.com.

“The restrictions on travel imposed by governments worldwide, while understandable, are nonetheless having a cataclysmic effect upon the global airline industry. Our immediate focus is on ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees, customers and communities. At the same time, we are exploring with the Government of Canada possibilities to maintain essential operations to enable as many Canadians as possible to return to Canada, and to support other vital transport needs, including the shipment of goods and cargo during the crisis as required in any state of emergency. We are working around the clock to deal with the impact for our customers and our business of the various travel restrictions that are being made by governments at unprecedented speed without advance warning. We will also look at helping Canadians to return home by operating a limited number of charters from international destinations and exploring with the Government of Canada avenues in this regard. We will provide updates as details are finalized,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.

For Affected Customers

The airline will gradually suspend some of its scheduled flights between now and March 31 as demand for Canadians to return to Canada from a number of destinations reduces. Please check Air Canada’s website for details given the rapidly evolving situation.

Affected customers, including those with Air Canada Vacations packages, whose flights are cancelled will receive a full credit valid for 24 months. There is no requirement to contact Air Canada as customers will be contacted directly.

The airline has also put in place temporary, one-way fares to Canada to enable customers abroad to return home. Customers seeking to contact Air Canada are advised that contact centre wait times are elevated, so the airline has put in place a number of self-service tools to enable customers to manage their travel online. For more information please consult our COVID-19 webpage at www.aircanada.com.

Qantas Adds New Routes to North Coast for Holidays by the Sea

Qantas Adds More Travel Options for Customers Across Australia

Qantas to Give Final 747 Jumbo Jet a Farewell Fit for a Queen

ATR Releases 2019 Results

Air Canada Provides Update on Ongoing COVID-19 Response

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