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Qantas has swooped on the Tokyo (Haneda) capacity vacated by Virgin, with plans for three daily A330-300 flights from Australia’s east coast.
The Flying Kangaroo, which currently operates two daily Sydney–Haneda services, is looking to fly once each per day from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from 30 March next year, while maintaining connections to Tokyo’s other major international airport at Narita.
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Qantas has applied to the International Air Services Commission (IASC) for the seats, which are set to be freed up when Virgin Australia ends its daily Cairns-Haneda service on 24 February next year. It currently flies daily from Melbourne and Brisbane to Narita in addition to its Sydney-Haneda route.
“It is anticipated that a third daily service will commence with an Airbus A330 aircraft configured with 297 seats,” wrote Qantas’ executive manager for policy, industry and international affairs, Anna Pritchard, in the airline’s application to the IASC.
“It is planned that Qantas will serve Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to/from Tokyo-Haneda with the addition of a third daily service.”
Virgin announced earlier this year that it would end its low-performing Cairns-Haneda service 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.
“We know this is disappointing news and we are sorry for the impact this decision will have on those guests booked to travel with us from 24 February 2025.”
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.
