Australia’s Qantas sees rise in international bookings

Andrew David, the airline’s Chief Executive for domestic and international, said bookings for flights into Australia had doubled on the first day following Monday’s announcement that borders would open on February 21

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Qantas saw a significant rise in international ticket searches and bookings since Australia said it would reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers on Febvruary 21. Andrew David, the airline’s Chief Executive for domestic and international, said bookings for flights into Australia had doubled on the first day following Monday’s announcement that borders would open on February 21.

“Bookings are strongest out of the United States and UK and we’ve also seen spikes from South Africa, India and Canada, with March, April and May the most popular months for travel,” David said in a statement.

Australia kept its borders almost closed for nearly two years during the pandemic. International travel spending went down from AUD 44.6 billion (USD 31.93 billion) in the 2018/19 financial year to AUD 1.3 billion in 2020/21, according to Tourism Research Australia.

Qantas plans to restart several international routes in the coming weeks, including Sydney-Dallas, Brisbane-Singapore, Sydney-Manila and Brisbane-Los Angeles

China and New Zealand, which were Australia’s largest inbound markets in 2019 before the pandemic, remain effectively shut because travellers face lengthy quarantine when returning home. The United States and Britain, the third and fourth biggest inbound tourism markets respectively in 2019, do not require any isolation for returning travellers.

Qantas plans to restart several international routes in the coming weeks, including Sydney-Dallas, Brisbane-Singapore, Sydney-Manila and Brisbane-Los Angeles.

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