Qantas has confirmed it will launch long-awaited flights to Paris from 12 July 2024 – just in time for the Paris Olympic Games.

Qantas will initially fly Boeing 787-9s four times per week from Sydney to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport via Perth. This will be wound back to three weekly year-round flights after the Olympics wraps up in mid-August 2024.

Qantas’ Boeing 787s have Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class seating – but no First Class.

Flights will go on sale later today, with Economy Sale fares from Perth to Paris starting from $1,899 return until 2 November or sold out.

“This route has been on our wish list for a while and we think customers will be as pleased as we are to see it go on sale today,” Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said.

“Our direct flights to London and Rome have been hugely popular and Paris is the next most-requested destination, so we know the demand for this service will be strong as well.

“The schedule we’ve announced today will add more than 75,000 seats between Australia and Europe each year and we’ll be working with Tourism WA to help make the most of the opportunity to bring tourists here, knowing that direct flights are a big factor in people deciding where to travel.”

Qantas’ Sydney-Perth-Paris schedule

Qantas flight QF33 will leave Sydney in the afternoon, stopping over in Perth before continuing on the 17-hour overnight leg to Paris. Flights will depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The schedule will be as follows:

• QF33 Sydney 13:55 – Perth 17:00
• QF33 Perth 19:35 – Paris 06:55 (+1 day)

The return journey QF34 will leave Paris in the morning, arriving in Perth the following morning and terminating in Sydney the following afternoon. The schedule will look something like this:

• QF34 Paris 09:55 – Perth 08:30 (+1 day)
• QF34 Perth 10:00 – Sydney 16:05

Business Class passengers, as well as those eligible for lounge access through status or Qantas Club membership, will have access to Qantas’ International Transit Lounge in Terminal 3 during the stop in Perth.

Passengers will also be able to book a seat on QF33 or QF34 just for the domestic leg between Sydney and Perth.

Qantas’ expansion into Europe

Qantas currently flies year-round from Sydney to London via Singapore, and Melbourne to London via Perth. The flying kangaroo’s seasonal Sydney-Perth-Rome route will also return next year, making Paris the third Qantas destination in Europe.

Through Qantas’ partnership with Air France, passengers will also be able to connect via Paris (CDG) onwards to over 70 other destinations. This provides Qantas customers heading to other cities in Europe with an alternative to connecting through London or Dubai.

As an added bonus of flying Qantas from Paris to Australia instead of from London, passengers flying out of France don’t have to pay the UK’s expensive Air Passenger Duty departure tax. There is a French “solidarity tax” charged instead, but it’s much lower.

Qantas previously flew its own aircraft to France until 2004, when it ran a Boeing 747 service from Perth to Paris via Singapore.

Paris has also been touted as a possible destination for Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” services. Once Qantas receives its ultra-long range Airbus A350-1000 jets, it could launch a non-stop service from Sydney to Paris.

The first Perth-Paris flights will carry Australian Olympians

In recent times, Qantas has often turned the first few flights on its new international routes into “Points Planes”. This is where every seat is available to book as a Classic Flight Reward using points.

This isn’t the case with this particular route launch, and it’s not hard to see why. The route will launch right in the middle of the peak European summer travel season, and just weeks before the Paris Olympics begins.

“Some of the first customers on these flights will be Australian athletes heading to Paris to compete at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Qantas CEO said.

Other Qantas international network changes

Earlier this week, Qantas also announced a new twice-weekly route from Sydney to Port Moresby which will commence on 1 April 2024. This will supplement Qantas’ existing Brisbane-Port Moresby route.

Around the same time, Qantas will switch its Sydney-Honolulu service from an Airbus A330-300 to a Boeing 787-9 with more Business Class seats and a Premium Economy cabin. The Boeing 787 used for this will be taken from the Sydney-Tokyo route.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.