Qantas puts 787s on domestic flights in capacity ramp-up

Qantas will deploy its Boeing 787-9s on domestic flights for the first time since the type entered its fleet, as part of a capacity expansion that will also see seven new domestic routes launched. The 787 — a long-haul mainstay that has been largely grounded since international borders were shuttered — will operate Sydney-Perth flights, up to nine times a week. On the same route, Qantas will add Airbus A330-200s, which are usually used on flights to Asia, up to 4 times a week. The Oneworld carrier has 34 weekly flights between Sydney and Perth. The A330s will also be deployed on selected flights on three city pairs: Melbourne-Perth, Sydney-Darwin, as well as Brisbane-Darwin. The additional widebody capacity is on top of existing A330 domestic operations, the carrier states. Qantas domestic and international chief executive Andrew David says: “Our strategy of adding new domestic routes is generating revenue from our aircraft rather than leaving them on the ground. It means more work for our people and even more low fares for our customers.” Qantas’ reallocation of more widebody aircraft to domestic operations comes as the carrier postponed a planned international restart to the end of the year. <br/>