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Qantas Phases Out Flights to Developing Countries and Will Fly to a New Location for the First Time as Part of Major Changes to Its International Flight Program.

Qantas to fly to Palau for the first time

The company plans to operate weekly flights from Brisbane to the Palau Islands in the Pacific Ocean in the coming months.

The airline explained, that the service will be provided under the contract, concluded by Qantas with the federal government to maintain strong trade and tourism ties between the countries.

Palau is made up of more than 300 Islands. Image: iStock

Palau, also known as Belau, consists of more than 300 islands and is famous as a popular diving destination.

Previously, Australian travelers could fly from Brisbane to Palau with Nauru Airlines.

Flights from Brisbane to the capital of New Caledonia, Nouméa, will resume from 14 December after a temporary suspension in April.

The number of flights will also increase from one to two per week, at the same time, Embraer E190 aircraft will be used on the route for the first time.

Qantas will cancel flights on the Sydney-Seoul route

With 14 June 2025 Qantas will close the Sydney-Seoul route, as low-cost airline Jetstar has increased the number of its flights from Sydney to the South Korean capital.

Taking into account these changes, the number of seats for passenger transportation on this route will increase by 4%, making Jetstar the largest carrier between Australia and South Korea.

Qantas announced, that will contact customers in the coming days, who have already booked tickets for flights with changes in the schedule.

"One of the benefits of our two-brand strategy is flexibility, which we provide through the combined Qantas and Jetstar fleets.", said Qantas Group CEO Cam Wallace.

"Qantas launched flights to Seoul after the pandemic, and now, when demand has normalized, It has grown significantly as a market for travel services, which opens up a great opportunity for Jetstar to increase the frequency of flights and allow Qantas to redirect its aircraft to those routes, where we see high demand".

Darwin-Singapore route will appear from March

The airline announced, that the new A220 QantasLink aircraft will make its debut on the international network on the route from Darwin to Singapore with 30 March 2025 is a new route, which has already been announced earlier.

Originally planned, that the flights will start in December 2024 years on Embraer E190 aircraft, but the A220 is larger in size and can carry more than 70 000 passengers per year.

This aircraft is currently used domestically and will eventually replace the Boeing fleet 717 QantasLink as part of its fleet renewal program.

Qantas said, that the A220 opens up opportunities for new short-haul international routes.