Since entering service in March 2024, QantasLink’s new Airbus A220 jets have been a hit with passengers.

National Jet Systems operates these planes under the QantasLink brand. They currently fly from Melbourne to Canberra, Brisbane and Hobart, but more routes are on the way soon.

About the Airbus A220

The Airbus A220-300 is a modern regional jet originally designed and built by Bombardier as the CSeries. Airbus later bought out Bombardier, rebranding the Bombardier CSeries as the Airbus A220 in the process.

From a passenger’s point of view, the Airbus A220 is a very comfortable aircraft. QantasLink’s version has 10 Business Class seats in a 2-2 configuration and 127 Economy seats in a 2-3 layout.

There’s free Wi-Fi, streaming entertainment and USB charging outlets (both USB-A or USB-C) for all passengers.

The front row, exit row (12) and first six pairs of Economy seats on the left-hand side of the plane also feature extra legroom. Qantas is charging $30-$40 to choose one of these seats in advance, except Platinum One members who can select them for free. Anyone else can select these seats without charge, if they’re still available, after checking in online.

From an airline’s point of view, the Airbus A220 is also a very capable aircraft. It has the range to fly between any two points in Australia, and it burns 25% less fuel than the Boeing 717s that the A220 fleet will replace.

The new planes have initially been based at Melbourne Airport. As the fleet eventually grows to 29 Airbus A220s, QantasLink will introduce them onto lots more routes. But to start with, they are currently scheduled on the following routes and flights…

Melbourne-Canberra

Melbourne-Canberra was the inaugural route for the Qantas A220-300, with the first Melbourne-Canberra flight taking off on 1 March 2024. Since then, Qantas has gradually switched almost all Melbourne-Canberra flights from Boeing 717s to Airbus A220s. Only a few flights on the route now use Boeing 737-800s instead.

You can identify the A220 flights as they all have flight numbers in the “QF12xx” range.

Melbourne-Brisbane

QantasLink is currently flying A220-300s on a few daily Melbourne-Brisbane rotations each weekday, and once daily on weekends.

Melbourne-Hobart

After spreading their wings between Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane for the first few months, QantasLink introduced A220s onto the Melbourne-Hobart route in July 2024. The A220 currently operates the following services:

From late October, QantasLink will start using Airbus A220s on all its other Melbourne-Hobart services as well.

Melbourne & Sydney to Launceston

From 14 October 2024, the A220s will replace all of QantasLink’s Boeing 717 and Dash 8 services on the Melbourne-Launceston route.

Two weeks later, on 27 October 2024, QantasLink will start flying Airbus A220s from Sydney to Launceston.

Melbourne-Coffs Harbour

Also from 27 October 2024 (the start of the IATA northern winter season), Qantas is scheduling A220s onto its Melbourne-Coffs Harbour route. These flights will operate as QF1299/1298 with a different schedule on different days of the week.

Sydney-Hobart

The route from Sydney to Tasmania’s capital will be next in line to get QantasLink A220 service the following month. Sydney-Hobart flights start seeing A220s on 19 November.

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 economics, aviation & 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.