Qantas elevates Sydney-Johannesburg route to A380 superjumbo

September 30, 2024 in Business, Companies, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Australian flag carrier Qantas has added capacity on its Sydney-Johannesburg route, after up-gauging the service to the Airbus A380-800.

This will add an extra 130,000 seats a year to the sector and bring back the comforts of the First Class travel between Australia and South Africa for the first time since 2018.

The four-cabin aircraft configured to 485 seats took from Sydney on its inaugural service earlier today, and was due to land to Johannesburg Oliver R Tambo at 4.06pm local time, after a flight lasting 14 hours and 40 minutes. The reciprocal outbound journey from Johannesburg will however, be a shorter 11 hours and 55 minutes.

Qantas says the service will operate six times a week, and will result in an overall increase in capacity to 280,000 seats a year. Officials added that the larger volume of the A380 will also see a doubling of the seating available in premium economy.

“The A380 is a favourite among our frequent flyers and it will be great to see the Flying Kangaroo in the land of the springbok. We are seeing strong demand for our Sydney services and, by upgrading to the Superjumbo, we will nearly double capacity during peak periods, adding over 130,000 seats per year between the continents,” said Qantas International ceo Cam Wallace.

He added: “This extra capacity will significantly expand the options for Qantas customers heading to Australia, strengthening the connections between family and friends, business and trade as well as give a big boost to the South African tourism industry.”

Introduction of the A380 to the sector, caps 72 years since Qantas started commercial passenger flights between South Africa and Australia in 1952. It will be the only operator flying the A380 in the southern Indian ocean.

The massive airliner features 14 individual first class suites arranged in a 1-1-1 configuration and convert into a 212-centimetre bed. Its upper deck also features a lounge for passengers in first and business class, with booth-style seating for 10 people, a self-service bar and an option to order signature drinks and snacks.

Officials revealed further that Qantas intends to relaunch flights from Johannesburg to Perth from mid-2025, subject to meeting border agency requirements in Western Australia.

To boost its appeal, the Australian flag carrier has also inked a codeshare agreement with Airlink, which will offer seamless connections with nine domestic destinations within South Africa.  The partners are also seeking regulatory approvals for Qantas passengers to continue their journeys into nearby southern African countries using Airlink in the coming months.

The service has launched with economy class round-trip fares starting from USD 1135.   The flights are also timed to dovetail with Qantas’ New Zealand services in both directions.  This is the fourth Qantas A380 service adding to Los Angeles, Singapore and London.