Qantas may be planning a return to the international skies this December, but seats onboard will come at a high cost, especially when compared to rival airlines flying to the same destinations.
The Australian carrier has made no secret of the fact that it will resume international services this summer with massive advertising campaigns rolled out to encourage people to get vaccinated, something that will be compulsory for all passengers flying on Qantas.
But vaccinations may not be the only thing that prevents Qantas from filling its planes with people. Airfares released for many of its international routes reveal the airline's ticket prices are sometimes double those on competing airlines, according to prices listed on Skyscanner.com
For example, a one-way flight to London from Sydney on December 18 is $2742 with Qantas, compared to $1326 on Qatar Airways and as low as $730 on Japan Airlines.
Fares are even higher on the shorter Sydney to Los Angeles route on the same day - Qantas is charging $3688 one-way, compared to $1347 on United Airlines.
Qantas does, however, have cheaper fares on flights between Sydney and Auckland, should they go ahead on December 18, selling fares for $475 compared to Air New Zealand's $511.
On direct flights to Singapore from Sydney, Qantas has fares available from $912, compared to Singapore Airlines $632.
Price Comparison:
All airfares in NZ$ and are one-way, departing on flights between December 18 - 20. They were viewed by Newshub on September 16, 2021.
Sydney-London
- Qantas: $2742
- Cheapest: Qatar Airways $1326
Sydney-Los Angeles
- Qantas: $3688
- Cheapest: United Airlines $1347
Sydney-Vancouver
- Qantas: $2939 (Only direct service available at this time. Air Canada also flew this route before COVID-19)
- Cheapest: United Airlines and WestJet $1500 (With a stopover in Los Angeles)
Sydney-Singapore
- Qantas: $912
- Cheapest: Singapore Airlines $632
- Interestingly, a seat on Singaporean low-cost airline Scoot costs $1025
Sydney-Tokyo
- Qantas: $1094
- Cheapest: Japan Airlines $1021
Sydney-Fiji
- Qantas: $344
- Cheapest: Jetstar $282
- The only other carrier on this route, Fiji Airways has an a $318 airfare
Sydney-Honolulu
- Qantas: $1414
- Cheapest: $1328
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