Flights between Sydney and Melbourne, once the world’s second-busiest air route (or third-busiest, depending how you count it) resumed yesterday as the NSW-Victoria border re-opened.
Until yesterday, the NSW-Victoria border had been closed for more than four months by pandemic control measures. The air-route fell away to nothing. See: Sydney-Melbourne vanishes from world’s busiest routes
Flights are now back and Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce expects to restore the airline’s seat capacity to at least half its pre-coronavirus levels by Christmas, and possibly 60%.
Victoria has now gone 24 days without a coronavirus infection or death – currently a better record than NSW.
From Monday, Victorians no longer have to wear masks outdoors and residents are allowed to host 15 people in their homes.
The end of border restrictions in Queensland and Western Australia is in sight. Latest news about the efficacy of anti-Covid vaccines is another source of hope for the travel industry. 2021 could see international flights resume, carrying passengers who have been vaccinated.
In the meantime, Qantas and Jetstar yesterday operated a combined 17 return flights between Sydney and Melbourne, carrying about 4500 passengers. During the lockdown, flights on the route dropped to as low as one flight per day on what has historically been the busiest air route in the country.
Qantas also launched a new route between Sydney and Mildura, which was originally due to start in March, and flights between Sydney and Bendigo will resume in early December. Jetstar will resume regular flights between Melbourne and Newcastle and Ballina (Byron Bay) this week.
Following the announcement earlier this month that the NSW/VIC border would reopen, more than 25,000 seats were sold in the first 48 hours. Jetstar’s recent ‘Return for Free’ sale also saw huge demand from Victorians in particular, with the three most popular routes being out of Melbourne.
Not to be left behind, Virgin Australia announced it had become the first major Australian airline in history to exit voluntary administration. New chief executive and managing director Jayne Hrdlicka unveiled the airline’s future direction and proclaimed its commitment to retain a domestic market share of roughly one third (as pre-Covid).
Virgin Australia will initially operate four return services per day (28 per week) between Melbourne and Sydney, lifting frequencies in the run-up to Christmas.
Virgin opened its lounges from yesterday. It will target the mid-market and will remain the only Australian airline offering three domestic seating options. Significant technology investment is planned to upgrade customer experience and there will be no change to Velocity Frequent Flyer, with “substantial airline and non-airline earn and redemption opportunities for its 10 million members”.
“Australia already has a low-cost-carrier and a traditional full-service airline, and we won’t be either,” Hrdlicka said.
“Virgin Australia will be a mid-market carrier appealing to customers who are after a great value airfare and better service. We will continue to evolve our offering for our customers based on data and feedback, but the Virgin Australia experience millions of travellers know and love is here to stay.
“We emerge today stronger, more competitive, and ready to face the challenges ahead. We removed an enormous amount of complexity from our business, greatly improved our cost base, and have an extraordinary team on the ground and in the air to deliver our new plan. We are more resilient than ever and have the backing of Bain Capital who are deeply invested in seeing us succeed over the long term.”
Qantas, meanwhile, announced an offer to extend the Frequent Flyer status of hundreds of thousands of its members for another 12 months.
To qualify for the extension – and retain the various benefits that come with each membership tier – members facing expiry in 2021 need to book a Qantas-operated flight between now and their current tier expiry date for travel until the end of 2021.
This follows an automatic 12-month extension that was provided at the start of the pandemic, as travel restrictions prevented members from being able to do the flying necessary to retain their Silver, Gold, Platinum or Platinum One status.
By early December, Qantas Frequent Flyers will have access to 30 of the 35 domestic and regional lounges across the airline’s network.
“After a very tough year for a lot of people, this is a big milestone in Australia opening back up,” Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said.
“It’s going to be a really emotional day for a lot of our passengers. We’re going to see the kind of reunions normally reserved for long haul international flights rather than two cities that are only an hour apart.
“It’s a great day for a lot of our people, who have been stood down for months. They have been so professional through all this and we’re thrilled to see more of them coming back to work.
“The Melbourne to Sydney route is normally the busiest on our network. During lockdown, it was down to just one flight a day. We’re still a long way off having it back to full strength, but the sharp rebound in travel demand we’re seeing gives us a lot of confidence.
“Even though they haven’t been able to fly, the loyalty of our customers through this crisis has been amazing. In recognition of that, we’re offering to extend their Frequent Flyer status for another 12 months when they book a Qantas flight, which is something they might have otherwise lost, particularly with international travel off the agenda for a while.
“As borders continue to open, we’re expecting a boom in domestic travel. We know a lot of people will choose to fly Qantas and Jetstar because they know exactly what service and product to expect, whether they are travelling next week or next year,” Joyce added.
Qantas Domestic flights continue to have complimentary baggage, food and drink included with every seat and free Wi-Fi on flights operated by its Boeing 737 aircraft.
Increased flying between Victoria and New South Wales will see the Qantas Group’s overall domestic capacity increase from around 30% of pre-Covid levels to just under 40%. Qantas now says further easing of border restrictions could see this increase to 60% by Christmas.
Written by Peter Needham
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