Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[Annie48]

People holding cancelled tickets have been told by Emirates staff that there are no plans to take passengers between Dubai and Australia in 2022 at this stage. Singapore Airlines has also done the same this week, cancelling all passenger tickets from late 2021 and advising no passenger rebooking options exist in 2022 at this time.

I currently hold tickets for both Emirates and Singapore Airlines for travel between Australia and UK June 2022, at the date of writing I have received no indication these flights have been cancelled. Is what your comment says accurate and supported by factual evidence

 

[ayushamity]

QF published their opening flights today:

• Sydney-London (December 18)
• Melbourne-London (December 18)
• Sydney-Los Angeles (December 18)
• Melbourne-Los Angeles (December 19)
• Brisbane-Los Angeles (December 19)
• Sydney-Honolulu (December 20)
• Sydney-Vancouver (December 18)
• Sydney-Singapore (December 18)
• Melbourne-Singapore (December 18)
• Brisbane-Singapore (December 19)
• Sydney-Tokyo (December 19)
• Sydney-Fiji (December 19)

Full article here https://www.traveller.com.au/qantas-international-flights-from-australia-the-routes-set-to-start-first-h1yln7

 

[Jousams]

Can someone explain to me all the reporting on Qantas publishing their international flight schedule in the last few days?

the flights have been in the system for 2 weeks now?

 

[jrfsp]

QF published their opening flights today:

• Sydney-London (December 18)
• Melbourne-London (December 18)
• Sydney-Los Angeles (December 18)
• Melbourne-Los Angeles (December 19)
• Brisbane-Los Angeles (December 19)
• Sydney-Honolulu (December 20)
• Sydney-Vancouver (December 18)
• Sydney-Singapore (December 18)
• Melbourne-Singapore (December 18)
• Brisbane-Singapore (December 19)
• Sydney-Tokyo (December 19)
• Sydney-Fiji (December 19)

Full article here https://www.traveller.com.au/qantas-international-flights-from-australia-the-routes-set-to-start-first-h1yln7

Very ambitious, Japans border is closed. No "bubble" in place with Singapore yet.

Canada and Fiji should be ok.

 

[Mattg]

QF published their opening flights today:

• Sydney-London (December 18)
• Melbourne-London (December 18)
• Sydney-Los Angeles (December 18)
• Melbourne-Los Angeles (December 19)
• Brisbane-Los Angeles (December 19)
• Sydney-Honolulu (December 20)
• Sydney-Vancouver (December 18)
• Sydney-Singapore (December 18)
• Melbourne-Singapore (December 18)
• Brisbane-Singapore (December 19)
• Sydney-Tokyo (December 19)
• Sydney-Fiji (December 19)

Full article here https://www.traveller.com.au/qantas-international-flights-from-australia-the-routes-set-to-start-first-h1yln7

This is not new - the full schedule was published on AFF on 26 August!

Qantas Plans December 2021 International Restart

Qantas will fly Airbus A330s from Brisbane to Los Angeles and could redirect some of its flights to London via Darwin, instead of Perth, when

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Like @Jousams, I also have no idea why this has been in the news over recent days. This information was all made public when Qantas released its yearly results last month. I also don't understand why so many mainstream media outlets are reporting it as gospel, as if it's a sure thing that these flights will all 100% go ahead from 18 December.

 

[Jousams]

QF are the masters at getting journalists to advertise for them, even when there’s nothing new to report.

I’d like to say this is a reflection of smart people at Qantas, but in reality it’s probably just a reflection of how journalists (and their audiences) in Australia are.

 

[louie-m]

It’s all about risk management, isn’t it?

Thank you for replying. You've pretty much summarised my thought process - only I've not got as far as a decision.

Like everyone else, I'm so fed up with the uncertainty. I know I'm going back to the UK within the next month (at least that much is certain!) but I don't know exactly when because it's dependent on things beyond my control back in the UK. I can't rely on the flights I have booked back to Sydney because of the risk of bumping. When I get back to Sydney, I don't know if I'll be able to get back into Queensland because the border may still be closed. And so on. My flights are usually booked 350ish days in advance so all this is new to me and I don't like it! Time to put my big girl pants on I guess.

Post automatically merged: Sep 16, 2021

I currently hold tickets for both Emirates and Singapore Airlines for travel between Australia and UK June 2022, at the date of writing I have received no indication these flights have been cancelled. Is what your comment says accurate and supported by factual evidence

No, it's not accurate.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I currently hold tickets for both Emirates and Singapore Airlines for travel between Australia and UK June 2022, at the date of writing I have received no indication these flights have been cancelled. Is what your comment says accurate and supported by factual evidence

There may be no plans *at this minute* regarding the full resumption of services in 2022, but rest assured if there's a buck to be made, airlines will be flying here. I expect schedules with the resumption of services to come out once there's some sort of consistent global rules on entry. Those are in turn dependent on vaccination rates... and most countries are now catching up to the 'live with covid' stage.

 

[MARTINE]

There may be no plans *at this minute* regarding the full resumption of services in 2022, but rest assured if there's a buck to be made, airlines will be flying here. I expect schedules with the resumption of services to come out once there's some sort of consistent global rules on entry. Those are in turn dependent on vaccination rates... and most countries are now catching up to the 'live with covid' stage.

 

[dajop]

My partner was suggesting we book on QF from SIN to MEL just in time for Xmas. I'm not sure if I could be bothered dealing with QF if things go pear shaped. My theory is that if it is that easy to get in Australia then, Scoot and SQ will have more seats and much more competitive fares available by then, so it shouldn't be necessary to book on QF in advance. If caps remain I suspect QF will cancel these much publicised "new" services.

 

[OATEK]

My partner was suggesting we book on QF from SIN to MEL just in time for Xmas. I'm not sure if I could be bothered dealing with QF if things go pear shaped. My theory is that if it is that easy to get in Australia then, Scoot and SQ will have more seats and much more competitive fares available by then, so it shouldn't be necessary to book on QF in advance. If caps remain I suspect QF will cancel these much publicised "new" services.

We all have different circumstances, and will follow different strategies. I booked with QF for beginning of March 2022, because despite the cost I feel it suits us. I can understand December bookings will be tricky to pull off, but hopefully everything sorted out by January.

 

[justinbrett]

I think QF is definitely the safest option if you are flying from Australia.

Who knows what extra hoops Australia will make airlines jump through - one thing for certain, Qantas will be flying.

I think the political will in Sydney & Canberra suggests Christmas flights will be on, with worst case of 14 days home quarantine on return.

 

[dajop]

I think QF is definitely the safest option if you are flying from Australia.

Who knows what extra hoops Australia will make airlines jump through - one thing for certain, Qantas will be flying.

I think the political will in Sydney & Canberra suggests Christmas flights will be on, with worst case of 14 days home quarantine on return.

We're not flying from, but flying too Australia. But regardless, I'm confident that SQ (and EK, QR etc) will have the same conditions as Qantas do. If not it will be a major "F U" for airlines that have supported Australia over the last 18 months.

In our circumstances, , I usually find it easier to deal with your "home" carrier(in our case SQ) in case of cancellations etc, especially if you're top tier (like my partner is).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

We're not flying from, but flying too Australia. But regardless, I'm confident that SQ (and EK, QR etc) will have the same conditions as Qantas do. If not it will be a major "F U" for airlines that have supported Australia over the last 18 months.

In our circumstances, , I usually find it easier to deal with your "home" carrier(in our case SQ) in case of cancellations etc, especially if you're top tier (like my partner is).

Agree.

If anything I'd expect greater consistency from larger airlines that have been consistently flying... their crews are trained and current, and they have the fleet and redundancies needed.

 

[justinbrett]

We're not flying from, but flying too Australia. But regardless, I'm confident that SQ (and EK, QR etc) will have the same conditions as Qantas do. If not it will be a major "F U" for airlines that have supported Australia over the last 18 months.

In our circumstances, , I usually find it easier to deal with your "home" carrier(in our case SQ) in case of cancellations etc, especially if you're top tier (like my partner is).

I think there's a pretty good suggestion that home quarantine will only be for Australian citizens / residents which would put foreign airlines at a disadvantage (foreign airlines usually have a higher proportion of foreign pax - people tend to fly with their own airlines). Will their hubs be outside of any bubble agreement reached?

They may also restrict home quarantine to airlines that have a vaccine mandate.

Of course all airlines will be given the opportunity to fly under the same conditions as Qantas - but those conditions will likely favour Qantas (or VA for shorthaul).

As for supporting the airlines? They weren't doing it for free. Let's not forget all of the economy pax they bumped for first class pax. They certainly weren't providing charity. And making a killing on freight.

 

[dajop]

Well we’ll see. I’ll take my chances with SQ finding a way for it to work for them.

But hey isn’t QF the best! Throw together a nice PR campaign and reel everyone in again and again.

 

[justinbrett]

Well we’ll see. I’ll take my chances with SQ finding a way for it to work for them.

But hey isn’t QF the best! Throw together a nice PR campaign and reel everyone in again and again.

It's completely understandable for the government to give Australian based airlines an advantage after the last 18 months. How many airlines overseas have gone bankrupt? How many that didn't are at least in part nationalised? (EK, NZ, SQ, QR, EY.... all of the ones mentioned in this thread!)

If it's legal and above board, it's in the national interest to do so.

 

[Pushka]

I think there's a pretty good suggestion that home quarantine will only be for Australian citizens / residents which would put foreign airlines at a disadvantage (foreign airlines usually have a higher proportion of foreign pax - people tend to fly with their own airlines). Will their hubs be outside of any bubble agreement reached?

They may also restrict home quarantine to airlines that have a vaccine mandate.

Of course all airlines will be given the opportunity to fly under the same conditions as Qantas - but those conditions will likely favour Qantas (or VA for shorthaul).

As for supporting the airlines? They weren't doing it for free. Let's not forget all of the economy pax they bumped for first class pax. They certainly weren't providing charity. And making a killing on freight.

I'd say that almost all passengers flying in with QR, SQ and MAS into Adelaide are SA residents. Because Qantas deigns not to fly here.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It's completely understandable for the government to give Australian based airlines an advantage after the last 18 months. How many airlines overseas have gone bankrupt? How many that didn't are at least in part nationalised? (EK, NZ, SQ, QR, EY.... all of the ones mentioned in this thread!)

If it's legal and above board, it's in the national interest to do so.

And how many of those airlines kept flying? QF basically shut down any international services except for cargo. If it hadn't been for those international airlines we'd have been completely isolated.

Any 'advantage' that leads to higher prices is not good for consumers.

 

[justinbrett]

And how many of those airlines kept flying? QF basically shut down any international services except for cargo. If it hadn't been for those international airlines we'd have been completely isolated.

Any 'advantage' that leads to higher prices is not good for consumers.

Not a complete truth as Qantas has been flying pax internationally, just under government contracts. The flip side of this future advantage we speak of is Qantas has been most disadvantaged until now - those foreign airlines have many markets that don't have the restrictive pax caps. Again, they weren't doing it for charity.

Loss of our only remaining international airline is also not good for consumers. It would be an indirect advantage - we are probably a lot safer restricting pax flights to only airlines that have an vaccine mandate.