{"id":4204,"date":"2023-03-23T09:13:54","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T09:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=4204"},"modified":"2023-03-23T09:13:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T09:13:54","slug":"qantas-no-1-for-otp-and-hits-93-of-pre-covid-domestic-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=4204","title":{"rendered":"Qantas No: 1 For OTP And Hits 93% Of Pre-COVID Domestic Capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the latest industry performance report, Australia’s domestic carriers managed to get just over seven of ten flights to arrive on time in February.<\/p>\n

On average, 73% of domestic flights arrived on time while 73.7% departed on time, significantly behind the long-term averages of 81.6% and 82.7%, respectively. The figures are compiled by the Australian Government Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) and published monthly.<\/p>\n

Qantas leads the punctuality table<\/h2>\n

Against that backdrop, the Qantas network, which includes Qantas and\u00a0Qantaslink, emerged as February’s clear leader in on-time performance (OTP). For arrivals, Qantas achieved 78.1%, followed by\u00a0Virgin Australia\u00a0(73.5%), Rex (68.3%) and Jetstar 62.3%. For on-time departures, Qantas achieved 78.3%, Virgin Australia 74.6%,\u00a0Rex\u00a071.3% and Jetstar 61.2%.<\/p>\n

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\"Qantaslink<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Ryan Fletcher \/ Shutterstock<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With the busy Easter holiday season almost upon us and demand for air travel still peaking, Qantas and\u00a0Jetstar<\/a>\u00a0are scrambling to add more capacity. The mainline routes along the east coast of Australia, dubbed the Golden Triangle of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, are the economic lifeblood of the nation’s domestic carriers. Before the pandemic arrived, the Melbourne-Sydney route was considered one of the world’s most profitable airline routes and the golden goose for Qantas.<\/p>\n

From next Monday, Qantas is seriously ramping up services on the triangle, adding 57 additional return services per week, increasing capacity by 11 points to 93% of pre-COVID levels. Another prized route is the transcontinental service between Melbourne\/Sydney to\u00a0Perth (PER), with Qantas adding more widebody capacity using their\u00a0Airbus\u00a0A330s.<\/p>\n

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\"Qantas<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Ryan Fletcher\/Shutterstock<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

When the\u00a0A330s<\/a>\u00a0are fully operational, more than half of Qantas’ flights from Melbourne and Sydney to Perth will be operated by a widebody aircraft. Given that westbound flights from Sydney take around five hours and the eastbound return around four hours, the extra comfort of a widebody is much appreciated, particularly on the red-eye services.<\/p>\n

Jetstar is also adding more capacity, mainly by introducing four more\u00a0Airbus A321LRs<\/a>\u00a0to the fleet in the coming months. Once those four arrive, Jetstar will have nine A321LRs in operation on domestic and international services, increasing its total capacity by around 15%.<\/p>\n

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\"Jetstar<\/picture><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Photo: Jetstar<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Capacity will hit 100% in Q2<\/h2>\n

For the Qantas Group, the second quarter will bring an important and happy milestone, as the group reaches 102% of pre-COVID domestic capacity, up from 98% in this quarter. Qantas and Jetstar are also expanding their international services from next week, adding the following:<\/p>\n