Qantas has announced its plans of adding one million extra seats to its international network over the next twelve months starting October 2023. For this the airline is planning to add two Airbus A330s from its oneworld partner Finnair.
Instead of waiting for its own aircraft to arrive, Qantas as opted for wet-lease model to cash in on the rising passenger demand. The airline is expected to take delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliners along with A380s that are currently under maintenance and expected to join the airline fleet by end of 2023.
In terms of post-COVID recovery, this means that by March 2024 the airline will be at 100% of 2019 international capacity, up from the 44% it was a year ago and today's level of 84%.
As for increasing the capacity, the airline will ramp its Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York capacity. The airline will launch two international routes from Brisbane while resuming services from Australia to San Francisco next week and resumption of seasonal services to Rome and between Melbourne Airport (MEL) and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile prior to retiring Alan Joyce has outlined his agenda. He said: “While airlines globally are working to restore capacity to meet demand, there is still a mismatch between supply and demand for international flying. But with more of our aircraft back, new 787s joining our fleet and our contract with Finnair, we've got more seats for our customers and more opportunity for Qantas' crew as we increase our own flying
From late October, Finnair will fly Qantas flights between Sydney and Singapore. Also, Finnair will operate its A330 on all Qantas flights between Sydney and Bangkok from late March 2024, with the wet lease being put in place to free up Qantas aircraft and crews to boost flying on other routes.
The airline said that for the first two and a half years of the agreement, flights will be operated by Finnair pilots and cabin crew, with Qantas providing inflight food and beverage service, amenities, inflight entertainment and baggage allowances.
From late 2025, two Finnair A330s will be dry leased and will operate for up to three years with Qantas pilots and cabin crew, which the airline says will "create new jobs and further promotional opportunities within Qantas."