Plan to restart overseas routes in Oct

SYDNEY • Qantas Airways laid out an ambitious plan to resume almost all international flights from late October, betting that vaccine roll-outs will help revive the world's shattered travel industry.

Qantas aims to restart 22 of its 25 overseas routes to cities including Los Angeles, London and Johannesburg from Oct 31, it said yesterday.

Low-cost arm Jetstar will restart all its 13 international routes at the same time.

The planned resumption of global travel is four months later than Qantas anticipated last year, though it broadly aligns with the date by which Australia plans to complete its vaccination programme.

Britain, further ahead with its jabs, is aiming for international trips to restart as soon as May.

"The vaccine changes everything," Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said. "With the vaccine roll-out already under way, we're on the right track."

The airline's revenue losses to the pandemic in 2020 were about A$11 billion (S$11.6 billion) - more than half its normal annual sales, Mr Joyce said.

Qantas plans a "material increase" in flights in the Australia-New Zealand travel corridor from July. But the airline needs the Australian government to fully open the country's international border before it can freely fly offshore. Initial capacity on international flights in October will be limited, and a full overseas recovery is not expected until 2024, Qantas said.

Still, Mr Joyce is hoping to trigger a flurry of ticket sales by giving a firm date for flights to resume.

Qantas is cutting at least 8,500 jobs and scything costs as part of a three-year plan to survive aviation's biggest-ever crisis. Some 7,500 other workers will remain stood down until borders reopen, Mr Joyce said yesterday.

In Britain, EasyJet ticket sales more than quadrupled in the hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that international trips may restart as soon as May 17.

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