Qantas Keeps Its 2020 Route Plans Under the Radar

Airline competition is brewing between Australia and Japan. Earlier this year, Australia-based carriers, Qantas and Virgin Australia, and Japan-based carriers, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines, were each granted a new slot pair at Haneda Airport (HND) in Tokyo. Since the awarding of the slots, ANA, Japan and Virgin Australia have all announced plans to operate routes between Haneda and Australia, however, Qantas has remained silent. CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement, “We have made a decision, but we aren’t announcing it—we’re going to do so in the new year.”

Australia-Japan Routes

Competition is fierce between the airlines, with ANA, Japan, and Virgin each using its new Haneda slot to add routes between Japan and Australia. Japan plans to swap its daily Sydney-Tokyo flight from Narita to Haneda, ANA will add a second daily flight from Sydney to Haneda, and Virgin will open a new route between Brisbane and Haneda. Qantas, on the other hand, will not be revealing their plans until 2020, but there is already speculation that their service will be out of Sydney or Melbourne.

Potential Qantas Routes

According to Simple Flying, flights out of Sydney or Melbourne are the only cities that make sense. Brisbane might be a possibility if Qantas decides to challenge Virgin’s route; however, adding to the competition in Sydney or kicking the Melbourne-Narita flight to Haneda are the more viable options.

For whatever reason, Qantas is going to keep us guessing until 2020. Until then, what do you think it will do with the new Haneda slot? Let us know in the comments!

[Featured Image: Flickr/ Erik Wilde]