Australia’s flag carrier Qantas announced this Friday its first direct route between Australia and southern India. The new non-stop flight will run between Sydney and Bengaluru from 14 September.
Connecting down under to South India
Australia’s largest airline will operate four weekly return flights from 14 September to Bengaluru (also known as Bangalore), the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state and the center of India’s high-tech industry. The flight will land at Kempegowda International Airport, the international airport that serves Bangalore.
Qantas will use its wide-body Airbus A330 flight.
The new route marks a new milestone as the first direct flight between Australia and southern India by any airline across the globe. The route also saves customers almost three hours in comparison to the current quickest route between Bengaluru and Sydney achievable via more than one flight.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce spoke of a steady increase in demand for direct flights between Australia and India in the wake of both countries reopening their borders:
“For the first time, southern India will have a direct connection to Australia, which will make travel between the two countries more convenient and much faster for customers. The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement will also drive travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people.”
Managing Director and CEO of Kempegowda International Airport spoke positively of opening up to Australia as it remains an important market:
“Australia is a very important market for South India and Bengaluru in particular, for corporates, students, and leisure travellers. The newly announced non-stop Bengaluru-Sydney service will further strengthen the position of Bengaluru Airport as the natural gateway for South and Central India.”
Continuing to serve India
Qantas already serves India with the operation of the Melbourne-Delhi route. The Australian airline will continue to operate this route for up to five flights a week.
Qantas is currently in the process of finalising a new codeshare agreement with IndiGo, an Indian low-cost airline. The agreement will allow for inbound travellers from Australia to have access to more than 50 Indian cities IndiGo operates from, and allows for outbound passengers to enjoy easy connections from Delhi, Bengaluru, or Singapore into Sydney and Melbourne.
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