Qantas expects return to 100% of pre-pandemic domestic capacity by January

Qantas expects to get back to flying 100% of its pre-COVID-19 domestic capacity by January as Australian state borders open up due to surging vaccination rates, the airline's CE said on Thursday. "It looks like by Christmas we will have every state open except for Western Australia, and Western Australia will open up domestically hopefully early in the new year, we assume around February," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said at an industry conference held by Flight Centre Travel Group. Travel restrictions between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's largest cities, eased on Wednesday as Victoria opened its borders to fully vaccinated residents from New South Wales amid a rapid rise in immunisation levels. With cases trending lower in New South Wales, including Sydney, residents will be allowed quarantine-free entry into Victoria for the first time in more than three months. Travellers from Melbourne who wish to enter Sydney, however, must undergo a two-week home quarantine.<br/>