Qantas to Launch Flights from Sydney to India and South Korea; Codeshare with IndiGo

(08 Apr 2022, 11:47 +07)  Qantas has unveiled plans to launch direct flights from Sydney to India and South Korea later this year.

The airline will operate four weekly return flights from Sydney to Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) from 14 September, using Airbus A330 aircraft.

The flights will be the first non-stop service between Australia and southern India by any airline and will cut almost three hours off the current fastest travel time from Sydney to Bengaluru, a growing technology and financial services hub.

The national carrier will continue to operate up to five flights per week between Melbourne and Delhi.

IndiGo A320 reg: VT-IFQ. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Qantas also intends to enter into a codeshare agreement with IndiGo, one of India’s largest domestic carriers, which will give customers improved one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities.

The proposed agreement will enable Qantas passengers to transit seamlessly from Qantas flights in Bengaluru, Delhi or Singapore onto IndiGo services to other major Indian cities as well as smaller ones such as Pune and Goa.

Under the planned agreement, Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage.

Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks.

The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform from late April.

New Direct Services to South Korea

Both Qantas and Jetstar will launch direct flights to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport later this year.

Jetstar will become the only low-cost carrier to fly direct to South Korea from Sydney, with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flights operating thrice wekly flights from 2 November 2022.

Qantas will begin direct flights between Sydney and Seoul from 10 December 2022 using A330 aircraft. The flights will be the first Qantas scheduled services to Seoul since January 2008.

“The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement is a driver of travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people. Our new direct flights to Bengaluru, combined with the planned codeshare with IndiGo, have the potential to reshape the way many people travel between Australia and India,” said Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce. “South Korea is Australia’s fourth largest trading partner and Koreans see Sydney as one of the top tourism destinations. With expected strong business, premium leisure and low-cost travel demand on the route, we see an opportunity for both Qantas and Jetstar to fly on the route.”

IndiGo, one of the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the world, has a fleet of over 275 aircraft and operates over 1,500 daily flights connecting 73 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations.

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