Qantas’ ambition for western hub already paying dividends as airline sees high demand for travel ahead of Xmas

Qantas’ ambition to turn Perth into a western hub connecting Australia with the world already appears to be paying dividends, with the airline seeing strong demand for travel ahead of the all-important Christmas holiday period. A number of flight sales and the launch of new services to Asia - Jetstar travellers can now fly direct from Perth to Manila as of last week - have proven popular, the boss of the Flying Kangaroo said, as have new non-stop routes to Johannesburg and Auckland that launch this weekend. The first Perth-Johannesburg service takes off on Sunday, while Perth-Auckland is scheduled to start operating the day after. Both routes will operate three times a week on a Qantas A330 aircraft with 27 business class seats. It brings the total number of Qantas long-haul flights from WA’s capital to six, compared to just two before the COVID pandemic, and furthers the airline’s strategy to turn Perth Airport into a major domestic and international travel hub. Qantas already runs direct flights from Perth to London, Paris, Singapore and a seasonal service to Rome, which will have almost double the number of flights next year in the wake of bumper demand. The western hub strategy will also see Qantas and Jetstar relocate services to a new terminal in the Airport Central precinct from 2031 following a $5 billion expansion. Ms Hudson said that while the strategy has been aircraft dependent, the arrival of new jets with more advanced engines capable of flying further distances was making it a reality. “We want to see Perth to be really up there with the best in terms of airport experience, but be able to unlock as many destinations on the Qantas and Jetstar network as possible,” Ms Hudson told The West Australian in a wide-ranging interview ahead of the new flights launching. She described the demand for Qantas and Jetstar flights emerging from Perth in the lead-up to the holidays as “really good”, noting many cost-conscious customers had booked early. “The cost of living is something that’s very front of mind for customers, but also something very front of mind for us . . . customers who book early get the best deals,” she said. “We would have had multiple sale activity for Western Australians on Jetstar and also Qantas over the year. We’re really positive about about the demand environment that we’ve seen.”