Qantas and Jetstar will grow their international network, with new direct routes to India and Korea taking off this year. 

Sydney to Bengaluru (Bangalore)  

Qantas will operate four weekly return flights direct between Sydney and Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore) from 14 September, using its widebody Airbus A330 aircraft. 

These will be the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline and will cut almost three hours off the current fastest travel time from Sydney to Bengaluru, a growing technology and financial services hub. 

With a population of 13 million people, the Bengaluru community has strong connections to Australia for both business travel and people visiting friends and relatives. These trade connections are expected to strengthen following the recent announcement of the Australia-India free trade agreement. 

Qantas will continue to operate up to five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi, making it the only airline offering direct flights between Australia and both northern and southern India. 

Planned codeshare agreement set to open up India  

Qantas and IndiGo, India’s largest domestic carrier, will establish a codeshare agreement that will give your customers improved one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities. 

The planned agreement will mean customers can transit seamlessly from Qantas flights in Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore onto IndiGo services to other major Indian cities as well as smaller ones such as Pune and Goa. 

Under the planned agreement, Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage. 

Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks. 

The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com from late April. 

To find out more about what this exciting partnership means for your customers, including the expanded network available to them, visit www.goIndiGo.in.Opens in a new tab or window

New direct services to South Korea 

Qantas and Jetstar will both launch direct flights to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport later this year, providing your customers with business, premium leisure and low-cost travel options between Australia and Korea. 

Jetstar will become the only low-cost carrier to fly direct to South Korea from Sydney, with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flights operating from 2 November 2022 three times per week. 

Qantas will begin direct flights between Sydney and Seoul from 10 December 2022 with its A330 aircraft, marking the first Qantas scheduled service to Seoul since January 2008. 

The launch of these new direct services recognises the increasing popularity of South Korea as a must-see destination for Australians, with its rich cultural history, vibrant nightlife, and incredible food. In return, South Korean travellers – who pre-COVID, travelled more frequently than any other nation in the Asia Pacific – consistently rank Australia as the top destination they want to visit. 

Qantas Group international restart 

Since Australia’s borders re-opened last November, led by New South Wales, we've carried almost 500,000 passengers on international services across 27 international routes, with another six routes restarting next week. 

Group international capacity is expected to reach more than 40 per cent of pre-COVID capacity in April. 

Qantas has now added six new overseas routes in the past six months, including Perth-Rome and Melbourne-Delhi, Melbourne-Dallas Fort-Worth and Darwin-Dili as it taps into new markets. 

All three new routes announced today are supported by the NSW Aviation Attraction Fund, which is co-funded by the State Government and Sydney Airport. Kempegowda International Airport has also supported Qantas’ Sydney-Bengaluru flights. 

Flights on sale now 

Fares between Australia and India and Australia and South Korea are available now through your GDS. Fares between Sydney and Seoul start from $1,224 Economy return, and between Sydney and Bengaluru from $1,349 Economy return. 

To reward your Frequent Flyer customers, Qantas will also offer the first three return services between Sydney and Bengaluru, and Sydney and Seoul, as Points Planes meaning frequent flyers can use Qantas Points to book any seat as a Classic Reward Seat until the end of April 2022. Seats on these flights can also be purchased with cash.  

Classic Flight Reward seats between Sydney and Bengaluru start from 37,600 points one way and Sydney-Seoul start from 31,500 points, (plus taxes, fees and carrier charges). 

Flights are subject to government and regulatory approval.