Qantas Increases Tokyo Capacity

Qantas will launch double daily services between Australia and Tokyo this weekend.

Qantas flight QF25 will depart from Sydney to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Friday evening, followed by the departure of QF61 from Brisbane to Narita Airport on Saturday.

“This significant capacity expansion has been extremely well-received by Qantas customers and especially by corporate travellers heading directly to downtown Tokyo, who can now save up to one and a half hours on their airport commute by flying into, or out of, Haneda,” said Qantas International CEO, Gareth Evans. “Customers travelling on the new Brisbane-Narita route can explore Tokyo or beyond with popular holiday destinations across Jetstar Japan’s extensive domestic network, like Sapporo, Fukuoka and Osaka. We’ll be working closely with our tourism partners to showcase all that Australia has to offer for the Japanese audience, and with a free trade agreement in place we’re anticipating healthy demand for travel in both directions.”

Qantas’ Brisbane-Narita launch flights will be operated by the airline’s refurbished A330 aircraft, with lie-flat seats in Business, brand new Economy seats and new inflight entertainment. The refit of these aircraft, which takes one month each, is being done at Qantas’ heavy maintenance facility in Brisbane. These aircraft are being introduced progressively onto Asian routes.

To celebrate the launch of the new Japan services, customers onboard flights departing to Narita and Haneda and in Qantas International Lounges in Sydney and Brisbane will be treated to Japanese-inspired menus for the first week of August, including Tuna Tataki Nigiri in Business, and Green Tea flavoured Kit Kats in Premium Economy and Economy.

The launch of double daily Qantas flights to Tokyo follows Jetstar’s introduction of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the Melbourne-Narita route earlier this month, increasing the available seats between the two cities by 20% over the next year. The upgrade from Airbus A330 aircraft to the higher capacity B787 will be complemented by an increase in flights from four to six per week December to March to meet growing demand for flights between Melbourne and Japan in the peak season.