A few weeks ago, Qantas cancelled almost all of its international flights until 24 October 2020. These cancellations were quietly extended yesterday by another five months, until the end of March 2021.
The only exception is flights between Australia and New Zealand, which are currently scheduled to resume on 17 August 2020. However, the cancellation of flights to New Zealand will almost certainly be extended as well if a “trans-Tasman bubble” is not announced soon.
At this stage, there is no planned start date for the resumption of unrestricted travel between Australia & New Zealand. The latest outbreak in Melbourne is likely to delay a decision, although we could eventually see air corridors formed between New Zealand and “safe” Australian states if the situation in Victoria does not improve.
Meanwhile, Qantas’ long-haul flights have now been cancelled for the entire IATA northern winter scheduling period, which runs from late October until late March. Flights are now scheduled to resume on 28 March 2021, but this is really just an arbitrary date marking the beginning of the 2021 northern summer period. If Australia’s international borders have not opened by then, the cancellations could eventually be pushed back even further.
At the same time, there is a possibility for Qantas to add flights back to its schedule if the situation improves. It will most likely depend on when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available and when governments around the world lift travel restrictions.
While sad news – particularly for the many Qantas staff that currently face being stood down for an extended period – these cancellations were inevitable. As recently as this week, Qantas had publicly said that it had not yet made a decision to cancel flights beyond October. But realistically, in the current circumstances, it was never likely that most of the Qantas international flights scheduled between October 2020 and March 2021 would fly. This decision at least now gives customers more certainty, and allows passengers with affected bookings to request a refund.
If you’re booked on an affected flight, your booking may not have been cancelled yet. But Qantas is no longer selling any new tickets on these flights, and will get around to cancelling your ticket at some point in the near future. When this happens, Qantas will probably convert your booking to a flight credit. If you’d prefer a refund, you will be entitled to request this by calling Qantas.
Perhaps Qantas also made the decision now to cancel international flights until March 2021 as it is currently lobbying the federal government to extend JobKeeper payments for aviation workers. This could strengthen the case for needing government assistance.
Last month, Qantas announced that it would axe 6,000 jobs and extend the stand downs of a further 15,000 workers.
Qantas has not operated regularly scheduled international flights since late March 2020. The limited repatriation charter flights it was operating for the federal government ended in June.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: International flights cancelled until March 2021?
Update: Shortly after this article was published, Qantas extended its trans-Tasman flight cancellations until 31 August 2020.
Interesting times – My “Manage Booking” for flight to Dallas leaving 2nd March went straight to apply for a credit, but when I rang Qantas, Customer rep went away to check and came back saying booking data had been reinstated………and that if it flight was cancelled I would get an email…..Obviously no “official” announcement of cancellations.
Interesting. Perhaps Qantas hasn’t got around to officially cancelling yet, but Qantas has already pulled the inventory from sale. There are definitely no seats currently available for sale on that flight (or any others around that date).
Current Australian flight cessations are the cause of much confusion for business and recreational travellers alike and with them, the uncertainty of retaining status levels with all, but specifically Qantas. I reached platinum level in March 2020 and thus retained that level up to April 2021. With no international flights ex Australia well into 2021, would I qualify for the discretional 12 month extension implemented by Qantas early in the Covid-19 pandemic ? Has anyone any information about this aspect of potential loss of status with no end in sight?
Bye Bye Qanats and International flights for ever we’re going to be stuck hear like in Jail for .No more international travel gone
October Flights to Fiji still going ahead at this point according to Qantas
Are you booked on a Qantas-operated flight to Fiji (i.e. QF101/QF102) or a Fiji Airways codeshare (e.g. QF345 or QF391)? At this stage, codeshare flights are still scheduled but not Qantas metal.
Ouch.
Australia and New Zealand are far, at least 20 hours away from where I live.
And I doubt that NZ can open any time soon based on the newest but troublesome news.
The Summer tourism bad news will hit many folks.