End of an era and sign for the future?
The last Qantas flight from Japan arrived in Cairns this morning around 6:00am, when QF60 from Tokyo touched down.
From today, the Japan-Cairns route will be operated by Qantas-owned budget carrier Jetstar, with a much reduced capacity and heralding what The Mole has been saying for some time, namely
Qantas will increasingly hand over routes such as this one to its lower cost and higher profit sister, Jetstar.
With the New Year upon us and the world in an economic turndown, let’s do some stargazing. The Mole reckons that over the next few years, we will see heaps of Qantas routes handed over to Jetstar, something Qantas said they would never do when they set up Jetstar.
Needs must though, and the world is a very different place now!
Domestically, what does this all mean?
The Mole reckons that in the not-too-distant future, we will see Qantas operating Sydney-Melbourne, Sydney- Brisbane, Sydney – Canberra and Sydney – Perth, and that is about it.
Qantas will offer a premium service, with Jetstar also operating those routes as a budget carrier and also operating every other route on the current Qantas network, except for Qantas Link – not sure where that fits yet!
On the international side, The Mole reckons that Qantas will, in time, end up retaining only the most profitable routes, where they can offer a premium service…. and which are those?
Well currently, before V Australia came on the scene, the Pacific, but it is very likely as competition increases on that route,
Qantas will operate a premium service on the Pacific with Jetstar operating the leisure, cheap-as-chips service.
What about the old Kangaroo route? The Mole thinks that will be the same story with Qantas offering a premium and, when technology allows it to happen, non-stop service to London only, and Jetstar doing everything else.
So what about aircraft? Well, the chess pieces have also moved there with the delivery delays for both the A380 and the Boeing 787, which along with the economic downturn gives QF and JQ the perfect opportunity to reassess their equipment needs and allocations.
What does that mean? I reckon that very quickly we will see Airbus A380s in JQ colours on the Pacific and flying one stop to Europe, and QF taking more 787 Dreamliners for their premium services.
A dream or guesswork… who knows, by let’s see what happens!
A commentary by The Mole
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026