Australian carrier Qantas is significantly boosting capacity on its popular seasonal route between Sydney and Sapporo, Japan, as demand for winter travel continues to grow. The airline will increase flights from three times a week to up to five weekly services for the 2026–27 season, adding more than 10,000 seats to meet strong interest from Australians heading to Hokkaido’s ski resorts.
Growing Demand for Winter Travel
The move comes after data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation showed more than one million Australians visited Japan in 2025, a 15 % rise from the previous year, with many travellers drawn by Hokkaido’s snow, winter festivals and ski fields.
The expanded schedule represents an over 50 % capacity increase compared with the current winter season. Qantas operates the route with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which offers both business and economy seats on the roughly 11-hour nonstop journey.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the route has seen “incredibly strong” customer response since its December launch and that adding more flights next season will give travellers greater access to Hokkaido. Qantas is the only airline offering a nonstop link between Sydney and Sapporo, a key selling point for holiday travellers who otherwise must connect through Tokyo or other cities.
Under the expanded schedule, early December will still feature three weekly flights, but services will increase to five per week from mid-December through late January before scaling back to four in February and three by March.
Project Sunrise and Regional Route Changes
In addition to seasonal expansion, Qantas is moving ahead with Project Sunrise, its long-awaited plan to launch ultra-long-haul nonstop flights linking Australia’s east coast with major global cities, including London and New York. The airline expects to begin these historic services in the first half of 2027, once specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR jets are delivered and certified. These flights will be among the longest in the world, covering more than 10,500 miles non-stop and cutting hours off current one-stop journeys.
Qantas has also announced it will end direct flights from Wagga and Albury to Melbourne, effective March 1, citing falling demand. The airline says many flights on those routes had been operating with fewer than half of seats filled, and will instead offer alternatives via larger hubs such as Sydney or Brisbane.
What do you think of these changes? Let us know in the comments.
