QANTAS will pull its five weekly services between Sydney and Beijing in Mar 2020, as the route is not commercially viable, the airline’s Int’l CEO Tino La Spina has revealed (TD breaking news).
The announcement came just over a year after Qantas cut its frequency on the route from daily to five days per week with the service failing to take off in the face of growing competition and weak demand for Business class between the two cities.
“Our flights to Beijing have been under-performing for some time due to weaker demand as well as a big increase in capacity from other airlines,” La Spina said.
“China is a significant market for Qantas and our direct services from and to Shanghai are performing well.
“With Beijing, we’re responding to what the market is telling us.”
While the Australian carrier has said it will no longer fly the route, Qantas passengers will be able to access direct services between the two cities through codeshare partner, China Eastern.
“We’ve got a strong partnership with China Eastern, so Qantas customers will be able to travel with them between Australia and Beijing and be rewarded as they would when flying with us,” La Spina said.
The announcement marks the third time Qantas has pulled out of the Sydney-Beijing route, having previously operated services between 1984 and 1987, 2006 and 2009, and now 2017 to 2020.
The Airbus A330 currently operating on the route will be redeployed to existing destinations in Asia, when the service concludes in Mar.
The airline said the decision to quit the route would not impact other services to China, with the carrier saying its daily Sydney-Shanghai was continuing to “perform well”.
Customers booked to travel on the route beyond Mar 2020 will be contacted directly and reaccommodated on alternative services or offered a refund/fare credit.
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Source: traveldaily