Update (7 February 2024): Qantas has revised its schedules and will now commence A380 services to Johannesburg from late September 2024.

Qantas has announced it will upgrade its Sydney-Johannesburg service to the larger Airbus A380 from 8 July 2024, with First Class seating available.

Qantas flights QF63 and QF64 are currently operated daily by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. From next year, Qantas will upgrade the route to an Airbus A380 service. It will run between four and six times per week, depending on demand. Flights will operate 6x weekly during peak periods.

This change will mean that Qantas’ Sydney-Johannesburg flights are no longer daily. However, it will result in an overall increase in capacity to South Africa. That’s great news for passengers because it should result in lower airfares and more award availability!

Even with just four weekly Airbus A380 flights, Qantas will offer 288 more seats per week in each direction between Sydney and Johannesburg. When Qantas is running 6x weekly A380s, the number of seats will be almost double.

The A380 also offers a more comfortable experience in Economy Class compared to the Boeing 787, due to the wider seats.

“We know our customers are looking for great value and this additional capacity will put more downward pressure on fares,” Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said.

“The additional capacity will largely be made possible through our final two A380s returning to the Qantas fleet following heavy maintenance and cabin improvements.”

The A380 flights will go on sale from tomorrow. Qantas will join other airlines including Emirates and British Airways which already fly Airbus A380s to Johannesburg.

Qantas First Class to Johannesburg

The introduction of First Class on the Sydney-Johannesburg route is particularly exciting. It’s been around a decade since Qantas last offered First on this route, back when it was using a four-class Boeing 747-400.

We expect that Qantas may offer some Classic Reward seats in First Class. Keep an eye out tomorrow when the new flights go on sale, and get in quick if you see something you’d like to book!

This change is also good news for passengers booked in Business Class, who now have the opportunity to request an upgrade to First Class using Qantas points.

Prior to the pandemic, Qantas had been using three-class Boeing 747s on QF63 and QF64. Qantas retired its entire Boeing 747 fleet during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the route switched to a Boeing 787-9 service when it resumed in January 2022.

Flights between Australia and Africa

As well as being the only direct service between Australia and South Africa, QF63 is popular with passengers because it often flies close enough to Antarctica to get a glimpse of the southern icebergs.

For a short time from November 2022 until March 2023, Qantas offered a second route to South Africa with services from Perth to Johannesburg. However, Qantas discontinued this route in March 2023 following a disagreement with Perth Airport. The issue related to immigration and customs processing for passengers arriving in Perth from South Africa.

Before entering “business rescue” (a form of bankruptcy protection) in 2020, South African Airways had operated a direct Perth-Johannesburg flight. Although South African Airways is now in the process of restarting long-haul flights, it is so far only selling tickets from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Until South African Airways returns to the Australian market, Qantas has a monopoly on direct flights between Australia and the African continent. However, Air Mauritius flies twice weekly from Perth to Mauritius.

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.