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The International Air Services Commission (IASC) has awarded Qantas an extra daily flight to Tokyo (Haneda) Airport soon to be vacated by Virgin Australia.
The airline plans to operate a third daily A330-300 service from 30 March next year, which would allow it to switch its daily Brisbane and Melbourne flights – currently operating to Narita – to Haneda instead. It currently flies twice daily to Haneda from Sydney.
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Following the switch, which is pending slot approval at Haneda, Qantas will fly daily to Haneda from all three major east coast airports, as well as to Narita from Sydney. No other airlines applied for the additional Haneda capacity.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the Flying Kangaroo is “very pleased” at the IASC determination.
“With this third frequency, we plan to be the only airline to connect Australia’s three major east coast cities with Haneda Airport – right in the heart of downtown Tokyo,” he said.
“Now that we have approval from the IASC, we will apply for slots at Haneda for flights from Melbourne and Brisbane and, subject to this process, plan to go on sale towards the end of the year.
“Japan is an incredibly popular destination for Australians and we are seeing very strong demand for our services. These new flights will make it even easier for Qantas customers to get to Tokyo.”
Virgin announced earlier this year that it would end its low-performing Cairns–Haneda service on 24 February 2025 despite it only having launched last June, with its 737 MAX 8s being reassigned to domestic routes.
The route was the second-worst for capacity in Virgin’s international network; unlike most of the airline’s international services, the route relied heavily on inbound travel, which turned out below its forecasts and was weighed down by a weak yen against the Australian dollar.
“Our international network continues to be a central part of our strategy. Withdrawing from Cairns-Tokyo services was a tough decision, but unfortunately the recovery of inbound visitors from Japan is significantly below forecast and therefore operating our own service to Tokyo is no longer commercially viable,” said Virgin’s chief transformation and strategy officer, Alistair Hartley, in July.
Aside from Qantas, Sydney–Haneda is also served by Japan Airlines and ANA, while Narita sees Japan Airlines flying to Melbourne and Jetstar flying to Brisbane and Cairns. ANA also operates a seasonal service between Narita and Perth.
