News for South Pacific

Emirates Airline resumed (27-Mar-2023) daily Dubai-Sydney-Christchurch service using A380 equipment. The resumption supports the export of 15 to 18 tonnes of daily goods between Christchurch and Sydney, including cherries, lamb and seafood. Emirates Airline divisional VP Australasia Barry Brown stated: "Not only has Christchurch again become the smallest city on Emirates' A380 network, but New Zealand is now the first country on our network to exclusively carry our four cabin A380 and our best product yet". According to OAG, the carrier last operated the service in Mar-2020. No other carriers operate the direct route. [more - original PR]

Perth Airport announced (27-Mar-2023) Philippine Airlines commenced three times weekly Manila-Perth service with 168 seat A321neo aircraft on 27-Mar-2023. Perth Airport acting CEO Kate Holsgrove said: "We've been working closely with the State Government and Tourism Western Australia to secure this service, which will inject over 52,000 seats into the market each year'. It is Western Australia's first nonstop flight from Manila. [more - original PR]

Tianjin Airlines, via its official Weibo account, announced (24-Mar-2023) the resumption of weekly Tianjin-Zhengzhou-Sydney service on 24-Mar-2023, operated with A330 equipment. 

Virgin Atlantic Airways announced (24-Mar-2023) a new codeshare agreement with Korean Air, launching 25-Mar-2023. Under the first phase of the agreement, Virgin Atlantic will codeshare on Korean Air's Seoul Incheon-London Heathrow service. By Jun-2023, the agreement will be expanded to include further destinations throughout Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. According to OAG, Korean Air currently operates Seoul Incheon-London Heathrow service eight times weekly. [more - original PR]

Qantas Airways commenced (26-Mar-2023) four times weekly Melbourne-Tokyo Haneda service on 26-Mar-2023 with A330 aircraft. The service is the first nonstop between Melbourne and Tokyo Haneda Airport by any airline, saving passengers around two hours travel to downtown Tokyo compared with Tokyo Narita Airport. The route will add to Qantas existing flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Tokyo Haneda, which together offer over 420,000 seats between Australia and Japan p/a. Qantas domestic and international CEO Andrew David stated: "We've seen the demand for our Tokyo flights bounce back very strongly, and our research shows that it is one of the top tourist destinations that Australians plan on visiting in the next 12 months". [more - original PR]

Brazil's Government announced (13-Mar-2023) plans to reintroduce visa requirements for citizens of Australia, Canada, US and Japan, effective 01-Oct-2023. The electronic visa requirement had been removed in Mar-2019. [more - original PR - Portuguese]

Qantas Airways stated (20-Mar-2022) Jetstar Airways and Jetstar Asia will move to Terminal 4 from Terminal 1 at Singapore Changi Airport from 22-Mar-2023. This will increase the minimum connecting time from 60 to 90 minutes. Qantas Airways amended its commercial policy following the terminal change. Passengers may rebook onto another Jetstar Airways or Jetstar Asia service. Or for connections Singapore-Kuala Lumpur and vv sector, rebook on a connecting Malaysia Airlines operated flight. Passengers may also retain the value of the ticket in credit or receive a refund. [more - original PR]

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport reported (20-Mar-2023) the following traffic highlights for Feb-2023:

• Passengers: 2.7 million, -19.6% compared to Feb-2019;
  • Domestic: 1.7 million, -17.1%;
  • International: 1.0 million, -23.7%;
• Top 10 nationalities travelling through Sydney Airport for Feb-2023:
  
  • Australia: -11.6% compared to Feb-2019;
  • New Zealand: -23.2%;
  • US: -19.1%;
  • UK: -21.6%;
  • China: -75.1%;
  • South Korea: -12.6%;
  • India: -1.6%;
  • Japan: -31.2%;
  • Canada: -23.2%;
  • Philippines: -0.1%. [more - original PR]

Qantas Group announced (16-Mar-2023) Qantas Airways and Jetstar Airways are providing customers an additional 12 months to use their COVID credits, which are a carry over from the restrictions on borders and travel during the coronavirus pandemic. Before 16-Mar-2023, customers had to book and complete their travel by 31-Dec-2023. Following this change, they will still have to book by 31-Dec-2023 but have until Dec-2024 to complete their travel. The change also adds to offers introduced to encourage customers to book travel before their credits are due to expire, including a double points offer for Frequent Flyers in Dec-2022 and a Qantas "Find My Credit" tool, which will launch in Apr-2023 to help those who have lost track of their original booking details. [more - original PR]

Qantas Group stated (16-Mar-2023) an analysis of the AUD800 million (USD532.5 million) in COVID credits still held by Qantas Airways and Jetstar Airways customers shows:

• 76% of COVID credits are worth less than AUD500 (USD332.8);
• 24% of COVID credits are worth between AUD500 and AUD5000 (USD3328);
• Less than 1% of COVID credits are worth over AUD5000. 

There are two main types of Qantas COVID credits in the system – those that were triggered when the airline cancelled a flight (which are the most flexible for that reason) and those triggered when a customer elected not to travel. All Qantas customers in the first category remain eligible for a cash refund of their credit should they prefer. [more - original PR]