A backflip on border reopening dates has jeopardized the March restart date of Qantas’ nonstop flights between Perth and London. Also under a cloud is the mid-year start date of flights between Perth and Rome.
Qantas’ Perth – London flights this northern summer in jeopardy
Recently, Simple Flying reported the Perth – London flights would resume on March 27, 2022. That date coincided with the start of the northern summer flying season and a scheduled February reopening date of Western Australia’s borders. Qantas had also slated seasonal services between Perth and Rome to start in June.
However, the Western Australia Government has reneged on the February border reopening date, causing chaos at Qantas and other airlines serving Western Australia’s capital, Perth. As of now, the Western Australia Government has declined to set another reopening date.
Qantas launched its nonstop flights between Perth and London in March 2018. Two years later, the airline suspended services on the route and across the remainder of its international network. Nearly two years after that, uncertainty continues over just when the Perth – London flights will resume.
“We think it’s a phenomenal service that does really well,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce recently told Perth radio. “It’s currently operating over Darwin. Without the certainty of knowing Western Australia will open up by April, the question we have is, do we keep it going over Darwin?”
Singapore likely a popular Qantas stopover port this year
When Qantas resumed its London flying in November 2021, it sent those flights via Darwin rather than Perth. Qantas planned this as a temporary move. However, the intransigence of the Western Australia Government may London-bound flights through Darwin continue longer than anticipated.
“We have to make a commitment to Darwin because hotels are filling up in their peak season. We need to base crew in whatever the port is we’re going to be operating to London from. If we lose that option, we won’t have a London service,” said Mr Joyce.
That last comment isn’t technically correct. Qantas is resuming its London via Singapore flights on March 27, capitalizing on a quarantine-free travel corridor operating between Australia and Singapore. A possible (even likely) scenario is that both the Perth and Darwin London-bound flights will get dropped over the 2022 northern summer season in favor of the Singapore stopover.
This will suit many Qantas’ passengers based on Australia’s east coast who generally favor the traditional Singapore transit over Perth and Darwin. The big losers will be Perth-based travelers. And it might not just be the Perth – London flights in jeopardy.
Qantas’ Rome flights from Perth also up in the air
Qantas plans to start seasonal flights between Perth and Rome on June 22. Right now, Alan Joyce isn’t sure that will happen.
“It’s the same thing. We have to figure out what’s our backup plan if we can’t operate through Western Australia,” he said. “Qantas really wants to operate through Western Australia. We think the service will be great for the state.”
Alan Joyce’s January 24 interview on Perth’s top rating radio station sends a clear message to the Western Australia Government. Last year, Premier Mark McGowan told Mr Joyce that Western Australia would reopen, suggesting his word could be relied upon. The Qantas boss is now finding that is not the case.
Mr Joyce says a decision about the short-term future of the London – Perth flights is imminent, and he’ll re-route the Rome flights if necessary. Perth’s loss will be another city’s gain.
“You have to plan a backup when you don’t have the certainty of a (reopening) date, and you’re not sure even if you have that date that it’s locked in,” Mr Joyce said about the Rome flights.
