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Qantas to relaunch flights between Singapore and Darwin after 18-year hiatus

2024-01-17 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - From December, Australian airline Qantas will fly between Singapore and Darwin after an 18-year hiatus, adding competition to a route now served only by Singapore Airlines (SIA).

Subject to regulatory approval, the five-hour flights between Singapore’s Changi Airport and Darwin, the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, will initially operate five days a week from Dec 9, 2024.

There will be daily flights from March 2025, Qantas said in a statement on Jan 17.

The airline said it will use Embraer E190 regional jets on the route. The planes from the Brazilian manufacturer, which mostly come in a 94-seat configuration with economy and business class cabins, will be the smallest passenger jets at Changi Airport in terms of seat capacity.

Fares start from $792 for a return trip, and ticket sales began on Jan 17. Qantas last operated non-stop flights between the two cities in 2006.

The new flights will add more than 60,000 seats to the Singapore-Darwin route each year, the airline said.

Qantas said the size, range and economics of the E190s allow for the opening up of routes that would not be viable with larger aircraft.

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In 2022, the airline had established an E190 base at Darwin Airport as part of a three-year deal with Australian carrier Alliance Airlines, which will operate the Embraer jets. Qantas has a nearly 20 per cent stake in Alliance.

The flights to Singapore will be Qantas’ second international route from Darwin, after flights to Dili in Timor-Leste were launched in 2022, also using the E190s.

Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said the Darwin service will be a welcome addition to the airline’s international network out of Singapore, and it will strengthen trade, business and tourism links between Singapore and Australia.

He added that the new service will save hours of travel for those going to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and other Australian cities, as it eliminates the need to fly through other Australian state capitals.

The flights also open up a one-stop option for Qantas passengers flying from Darwin to Europe and Asia via Singapore, the airline said. At present, Qantas flies between Singapore and the major Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and London in the United Kingdom.

SIA now operates the only non-stop flights between Singapore and Darwin five days a week, using the 154-seat Boeing 737-8 Max planes.

From March 31, it will step this up to a daily service, restoring flight frequencies to the Australian city to pre-pandemic levels.

Low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia, which is 49 per cent owned by Qantas, used to operate non-stop flights between Singapore and Darwin. But the service ended in August 2022.