Qantas axes many routes.

12 June 2008

Qantas is to make large cuts to it's network in the wake of record fuel prices. Japan and South East Asia are the most affected markets, with withdrawals of the thrice-weekly Melbourne-Tokyo service from September, of Jetstar's Cairns-Osaka-Nagoya route from December and Sydney-Kuala Lumpur.

Frequency on Qantas' Sydney-Tokyo route will fall from nine to seven rotations a week from September, and its Sydney-Los Angeles will switch from 17 to 15 weekly services at the end of the year once the airline launches its Airbus A380 on the route.

Qantas is fortunate that the wide age-range of its aircraft gives it the flexibility to ground older planes that are less efficient and in many cases have already been written off the books as they are so elderly. The group will manage the capacity reduction by retiring a Boeing 737, as well as grounding two Boeing 767s and one Jetstar Airbus A320 and cancelling the delivery of a Jetstar A321.

The carrier will also retire four ageing Boeing 747-300 aircraft operating on the Perth route by December, replacing them with newer and more efficient planes, although it is unclear if 747-400s or A330s will be used.

Domestic routes to be axed include Qantas services between the Gold Coast and Sydney, and Uluru and Melbourne. The airline will also reduce Uluru-Sydney services from August.

Jetstar will pull out its Sydney-Whitsunday Coast, Adelaide-Sunshine Coast and Brisbane-Hobart routes from July. It will also reduce some services on the Adelaide, Avalon and Cairns routes by August. These are believed to be "developmental routes" where it was hoped that traffic would increase - and which are not viable with fuel prices so high.