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Qantas domestic services will not initially operate from Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) when it opens, Australian Aviation can reveal.
The Flying Kangaroo has confirmed its regional arm QantasLink will instead operate alongside Jetstar when WSI opens its doors later next year. This is despite comments by then-chief executive Alan Joyce two years ago that seemed to suggest Qantas’ mainline domestic flights would be launching from the airport at the beginning.
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While routes, aircraft, and other details have yet to be confirmed, the news means that Qantas Domestic will not operate major capital city routes out of WSI from the start, likely leaving those services to Jetstar and possibly to QantasLink’s growing A220 fleet.
Both Qantas mainline and QantasLink flights use the Qantas QF code, and the group in many of its announcements and reporting, including of on-time performance, will use “Qantas” to refer to all its “red-tail” QF-designated services, including QantasLink, drawing a distinction from Jetstar.
“In just over three years Qantas and Jetstar will take off from Western Sydney connecting one of Australia’s fastest growing areas through direct flights across the country,” Joyce said in 2023.
“As we take delivery of more aircraft and expand our fleet, we see Western Sydney Airport as a significant growth opportunity for the Group, which will complement our existing operations in the Sydney basin and nationally.
“Our data shows that more than two million trips per year are taken by people who live in the Western Sydney catchment so we know there will be demand for these flights from day one.”
Qantas Group said at the time it was planning to operate up to 15 narrow-body aircraft, comprising 10 Jetstar and five Qantas planes, from WSI, flying to destinations including Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
“It is expected these aircraft will carry around four million passengers through WSI per annum on more than 25,000 flights,” the group said.
“Around 700 operational jobs are expected to be needed, with local recruitment to take place in the lead up to the first flights.”
Aside from QantasLink and Jetstar, Singapore Airlines has also signed on as the first international airline to operate from WSI, while Qantas Freight will be its first cargo carrier. In March, the NSW government and WSI jointly launched a $16 million fund to entice carriers to the new airport.
Western Sydney International Airport has been contacted for comment.
Geoff Fairless
says:I guess when you are three airlines instead of one, it gives you the benefit of selling QF tickets but flying pax on cheaper iterations. Virgin has a similar option by using Alliance aircraft to operate out of WSI. Both are assuming that business travellers will want to stick with the current Sydney airport. I was expecting WSI to open up the East Coast for round-the-clock operations, it only closes down at night because of the Sydney curfew. Hence, using their low-cost options makes sense, as it will be people looking for cheaper fares that will be happy with East Coast red-eyes.