Qantas has confirmed the resumption of flights between Sydney and Sapporo effective December 15th, following an almost six-year suspension. The Australian airline will operate three weekly services by Airbus A330-200 aircraft during Northern Winter 2025/26.
Sapporo will become Qantas’ second destination in Japan, joining Tokyo (Haneda and Narita). In early 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, operations to Sapporo from Kingsford Smith International Airport were suspended.
The company will reach 100 destinations in its network with the start of New Chitose Airport (Sapporo).
Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
Scheduled until March 28th, 2026, as they will be seasonal.
Sydney – Sapporo will be Qantas’ fourth route in the Australia – Japan market after Sydney – Tokyo Haneda, Melbourne – Tokyo Narita and Brisbane – Tokyo Narita. Qantas is the only airline to connect Australia’s three major cities with the Japanese capital.
Cam Wallace, Qantas International CEO, commented: “We know Sapporo is an extremely popular winter destination for Aussies who love the snow and we’re excited to make it even easier for them to reach Hokkaido’s world-class ski resorts with a direct fight from Sydney. These new flights will save passengers hours of travel time compared to connecting in Tokyo or other cities and give them more time to enjoy on the slopes”.
“Australians’ love affair with Japan is stronger-than-ever so it is fitting that Sapporo will also mark the 100th destination in the Qantas network, following the great new destinations we added last year like Paris, Palau and Port Vila. We last flew to Sapporo in early-2020 and had extremely positive feedback from customers, so we’re looking forward to operating this route again”, he said.
As for Jetstar, which has a codeshare agreement with Qantas, it has five routes between Australia and Japan.
Brisbane
- Osaka (KIX): 4 weekly · Boeing 787-8 · Jetstar
- Tokyo Narita (NRT): 7 weekly · Boeing 787-8 · Jetstar
- Tokyo Narita (NRT): 7 weekly · A332/A333 · Qantas
Cairns
- Osaka (KIX): 4 weekly · Boeing 787-8 · Jetstar
- Tokyo Narita (NRT): 7 weekly · Boeing 787-8 · Jetstar
Melbourne
Sydney
- Osaka (KIX): 4 weekly · Boeing 787-8 · Jetstar
- Sapporo (CTS): 3 weekly · Airbus A330-200 · Qantas
- Tokyo Haneda (HND): 14 weekly · Airbus A330-300 · Qantas
Air Serbia launches flights to Shanghai
On January 11th at 18:45 local time, Air Serbia’s inaugural flight from Belgrade landed at Shanghai Pudong airport. The carrier adds its second connection in China after Guangzhou, which also operates to/from the Serbian capital.
Air Serbia will fly two times per week between Belgrade and Shanghai with Airbus A330-200 planes, the same schedule it offers to Guangzhou.
Tuesday and Saturday
Wednesday and Sunday
“We are very pleased to establish a new direct service between Belgrade and the People’s Republic of China. Shanghai is one of the most dynamic cities in the world and an important business and cultural centre. Direct Air Serbia flights to this city will provide passengers from Serbia and the Western Balkans region with a faster and more comfortable journey to China while making it easier for Chinese tourists and businesspeople to come to Serbia and other European cities we fly to,” said Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia.
Then, he stated: “I would like to thank all our associates and partners for their support, as well as the employees of Air Serbia who, with their commitment, made it possible for us to start 2025 successfully. The launch of direct flights to Shanghai is an important step in achieving our strategic goals and further strengthens Air Serbia’s position as a leader in regional air traffic.”
Fiji Airways incorporates two new ATR 72-600
The Fijian carrier announced the addition of two new ATRs, which arrived in Nadi following a long ferry flight on December 29th and January 5th. Both aircraft, configured for 68 passengers in single class, will strengthen Fiji Airways’ (Fiji Link) extensive network of destinations across the country and the South Pacific.
In accordance with our database, Toulouse (TLS) – Alexandria (HBE) – Al Ain (AAN) – Hyderabad (HYD) – Rayong (UTP) – Davao City (DVO) – Jayapura (DJJ) – Honiara (HIR) – Nadi (NAN) was the ferry flight of the ATR registered DQ-FLB.
The second ATR, with registration DQ-FLC, that landed in Nadi on January 5th, performed the Toulouse (TLS) – Cairo (CAI) – Al Ain (AAN) – Hyderabad (HYD) – Rayong (UTP) – Davao City (DVO) – Jayapura (DJJ) – Honiara (HIR) – Nadi (NAN) route.
Fiji Airways fleet
- Airbus A330-200: 3
- Airbus A330-300: 1
- Airbus A350-900: 4
- ATR 42-600: 1
- ATR 72-600: 4
- Boeing 737-800: 1
- Boeing 737 MAX 8: 5
- Twin Otter: 8
Fiji Airways CEO and Managing Director Andre Viljoen said, “These two new ATR aircraft are a significant investment in Fiji’s domestic connectivity. They are an important part of our commitment to providing comfortable and efficient travel options for our passengers and offering greater connectivity between our islands. This fleet expansion will also help us continue to meet the growing demand for domestic travel, ensuring that we can provide increased capacity where it’s needed most.”
“We’re excited to introduce our new Fiji Link uniforms, which bring us closer to our goal of a unified brand. The standardization of our uniforms across Fiji Airways and Fiji Link reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence and professionalism, ensuring that our crew represents the highest standards of service, and our passengers enjoy a seamless, consistent experience”, concluded.
Fiji Airways ATR’s operates the following routes: Nadi – Tongatapu, Nadi – Vava’u, Suva – Funafuti, Nadi – Funafuti, Nadi – Port Vila, Nadi – Suva, Nadi – Labasa and Suva – Labasa.
Firefly expands its international schedule
In late March, Firefly will begin four new international routes from Malaysia, to be conducted with Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured for 189 passengers in single class. Kuala Lumpur Subang and Penang will have these additions:
Kuala Lumpur – Jakarta · March 30th
Daily
Kuala Lumpur – Kuching · March 30th
Daily
Kuala Lumpur – Singapore · March 30th
Daily
Penang – Jakarta · March 31st
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Alor Setar, Banda, Bangkok, Haikou, Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur International, Kuala Lumpur Subang, Kuala Terengganu, Kuching, Langkawi, Macau, Miri, Nanjing, Penang, Phuket, Sandakan, Singapore and Tawau are part of Firefly’s schedule.
Air New Zealand adds a new ATR 72-600
In addition to Fiji Airways and Air Tahiti, the latter as you will see below in the table of new aircraft, Air New Zealand incorporates another ATR 72 to its fleet.
The aircraft, registered ZK-MZG, departed Toulouse on December 21st and arrived in Christchurch on December 29th, after an eight-day ferry flight.
Toulouse (TLS) – Heraklion (HER) – Riyadh (RUH) – Muscat (MCT) – Hyderabad (HYD) – Kuala Lumpur (SZB) – Denpasar (DPS) – Darwin (DRW) – Brisbane (BNE) – Christchurch (CHC) was the entire route, about a 40-hour flight not including stops and nearly 20,000 kilometers.
As per our database, the ATR entered service on January 16th with flight NZ 5503 between Christchurch and Invercargil (IVC).
Air New Zealand’s fleet is comprised of 112 aircraft, averaging 10 years old.
- ATR 72-600: 30
- Airbus A320-200: 17
- Airbus A320neo: 6
- Airbus A321neo: 12
- Boeing 777-300(ER): 10
- Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner: 14
- DHC-8-300 (Dash 8): 23
We review other highlights of the Asia and Oceania market
The Russian airline will expand its domestic schedule starting in January, with two new routes from/to Krasnoyarsk and another to/from Kaliningrad.
Beginning in late March, Air Astana will add two new services to Nha Trang from Kazakhstan, which it will operate on Airbus A321neo aircraft. Almatý and Astana will be part of the schedule:
Almatý · March 30th
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday
Astana · March 31st
Monday, Thursday and Saturday
Tuesday, Friday and Sunday
The company will increase its frequencies between Hangzhou and Tokyo Narita, currently offered four times a week with Airbus A321-200s and Airbus A330-300s.
Daily (from January 21st)
New flight CA 563/564 (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays).
As of January 1st, Air India commenced services between Delhi and Hyderabad using Airbus A350-900 jets. According to our database, the airline will provide a daily frequency on this route with the A350s, configured for 316 passengers.
Daily
Air India operates 12 flights per day between the two cities, 11 of which are performed by Vistara’s Airbus A320neo.
Azerbaijan Airlines will boost operations between Baku and Beijing Capital starting February 28th, from two to three weekly frequencies. The company serves Boeing 767-300(ER) planes.
Tuesday and Sunday
New flight on Fridays.
Monday and Wednesday
New flight on Saturdays.
AZAL has 2 Boeing 767-300ERs in its fleet (4K-AZ81 and 4K-AZ82).
Centrum confirms its first schedule with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which will join the Uzbek airline’s fleet as of March.
At the time of publication, based on its website, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen, Jeddah, Medina and Seoul Incheon will be its routes, all from/to Tashkent.
- Istanbul (SAW): 4 weekly · March 31st
- Seoul (ICN): 2 weekly · April 1st
- Jeddah (JED): 3 weekly · July 3rd
- Medina (MED): 1 weekly · July 6th
The Chinese airline inaugurated services between Beijing Daxing and Phu Quoc on January 14th. Operations will have a daily frequency by 158-seat Airbus A320-200s.
Daily
At 17:34 local time on January 2nd, China Southern Airlines’ first flight to Jeju took off from Changchun. In line with our database, the carrier will offer two operations a week on Airbus A320s.
Thursday and Sunday
China Southern Airlines is the only company serving this route.
China United Airlines began operations between Beijing Daxing and Vientiane on December 10th. The first service departed from the Chinese capital at 09:58 local time to Laos’ main city and capital.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday
The airline will expand from three weekly flights to daily on the Taipei – Matsuyama route, which it operates with 184-passenger Airbus A321-200s.
Daily (from March 17th)
According to our database, it currently serves on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
In addition to the four new routes previously announced, effective January 24th, the Malaysian carrier will launch operations between Langkawi and Chengdu by Boeing 737-800s.
Three times per week
On December 11th, the Indian low-cost carrier resumed flights between Hyderabad and Dhaka after almost a year of suspension. IndiGo will serve on Airbus A320neo aircraft, twice-weekly.
Monday and Wednesday
The South Korean airline modifies part of its operating schedule following the accident at Muan airport on December 29th, temporarily reducing frequencies and routes.
Schedule
- Busan (PUS) – Angeles City (CRK): January 22nd to March 29th · cancelled
- Busan (PUS) – Hong Kong (HKG): January 25th to February 2nd · cancelled
- Busan (BUS) – Tokyo (NRT): January 25th to March 29th · cancelled
- Busan (PUS) – Kaohsiung (KHH): January 26th to March 29th · cancelled
- Seoul (ICN) – Bangkok (BKK): February 3rd · from 14 to 7 weekly
- Seoul (ICN) – Guam (GUM): February 3rd · from 14 to 7 weekly
- Seoul (ICN) – Sapporo (CTS): February 3rd · from 14 to 7 weekly
- Seoul (ICN) – Tokyo (NRT): February 3rd · from 32 to 25 weekly
- Jeju (CJU) – Hong Kong (HKG): February 6th to March 29th · cancelled
- Busan (PUS) – Saipan (SPN): February 17th to February 28th · cancelled
- Seoul (ICN) – Da Nang (DAD): February 17th · from 14 to 7 weekly
- Seoul (ICN) – Osaka (KIX): February 17th · from 21 to 14 weekly
- Seoul (ICN) – Panglao (TAG): February 24th · from 14 to 7 weekly
Jetstar Asia will initiate a new route between Singapore and Indonesia starting March 20th.
The company will offer two services a week to Labuan Bajo with 186-seat Airbus A320-200 aircraft.
Thursday and Sunday
Jetstar will be the only operator on this route.
The company plans to resume flights to Matzu Nangan from Kaohsiung following a two-month hiatus. From February 8th, Mandarin is scheduled to perform two weekly charter flights on ATR 72-500 aircraft.
Wednesday and Saturday
Phuket – Zhengzhou, Nok Air’s new service.
The airline will operate three to four times per week by Boeing 737-800s seating 189 passengers, with a non-fixed schedule.
First flight schedule · January 13th
Nok Air has 14 Boeing 737-800 in its fleet.
On January 14th at 11:19 local time, SCAT Airlines’ first flight to Turkistan took off Aktobe. The Kazakh airline will serve three weekly times using 189-seat Boeing 737-800 airplanes.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday
As well as the new route to Vienna, which we will report on soon in another article, Scoot has announced that it will expand its operations in the Philippines with a new route from Singapore effective April 14th.
The airline will serve to Iloilo with Embraer E190-E2 for 112 passengers:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
From late June onwards, a new service will be added on Sundays.
At 18:59 local time on January 15th, Shenzhen Airlines’ inaugural flight from Nanjing landed in Hong Kong. Operations will be carried out three times a week with the following schedule.
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
Shenzhen will fly Boeing 737-800.
New route between Australia and New Zealand.
The airline will begin serving to Brisbane from Auckland with Airbus A320-200 aircraft as of February 21st. In accordance with its website, Solomon Airlines will operate once-weekly:
Friday
Honiara (Solomon Islands), Luganville (Vanuatu), Munda (Solomon Islands) and Port Vila (Vanuatu) are its destinations from Brisbane. It also has two flights per week between Port Vila and Auckland.
Spring increases frequencies on three routes in the China-Japan market, which it operates by Airbus A320-200s and Boeing 737-800s seating 174/180/186 and 189 passengers, respectively.
The airline has confirmed it will launch two new routes between Taiwan and Kobe.
Starting April 18th, STARLUX Airlines will provide 10 weekly flights to Kobe International Airport, using Airbus A321neo aircraft with 188 seats in single class.
Taichung
Daily
Taipei
Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday
More flights between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur.
US-Bangla Airlines expands from seven to nine weekly operations on this route, conducted by Airbus A330-300 aircraft. This schedule began on January 12th.
DAC – KUL
KUL – DAC
New services on Thursdays and Sundays (BS 317) and Mondays and Fridays (BS 318).
The Russian airline commenced two new routes from Tyumen in early January, which it will offer with 70-seat ATR 72-500s.
Xiamen Airlines’ first service to Laos’ capital, Vientiane, departed from Beijing Daxing at 10:02 local time on December 15th. The company, to perform one daily frequency, started this route five days after China United Airlines.
Daily
Both al fanous car blog will be the only operators between the two capitals.
Aircraft added by al fanous car blog from Asia and Oceania
- China Eastern Airlines (x4)
- China Southern Airlines (x4)
| Aircraft | Airline | Registration | Ferry flight | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A321-251NX | Pegasus | TC-RFK | TLS-SAW | December 16th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-IWS | XFW-DEL | December 17th |
| Airbus A330-941 | Cebu Pacific | RP-C3909 | TLS-MNL | December 18th |
| Airbus A320-251N | Hainan | B-32H7 | TLS-MCT-HAK | December 18th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-IWR | XFW-DEL | December 19th |
| Airbus A321-272NX | Korean Air | HL8591 | TLS-TAS-GMP | December 19th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | Asiana | HL8586 | XFW-TAS-ICN | December 20th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | Cathay | B-HPS | XFW-DWC-HKG | December 21st |
| Airbus A321-251NX | China Eastern | B-32KC | TLS-NQZ-PVG | December 24th |
| Airbus A319-153N | China Southern | B-32JJ | XFW-NQZ-CAN | December 24th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-ICH | TLS-GYD-DEL | December 24th |
| Airbus A321-271NX | VietJet | VN-A548 | XFW-DXB-SGN | December 24th |
| Airbus A320-251N | Hainan | B-32K5 | TLS-MCT-HAK | December 26th |
| Airbus A350-941 | Korean Air | HL8598 | TLS-PUS | December 27th |
| Airbus A320-271N | Sichuan | B-32K8 | TLS-TAS-TFU | December 27th |
| Boeing 787-9 | Shanghai | B-220K* | PAE-PVG | December 28th |
| ATR 72-600 | Air New Zealand | ZK-MZG | TLS-HER-RUH-MCT-HYD-SZB-DPS-DRW-BNE-CHC | December 29th |
| ATR 72-600 | Fiji Airways | DQ-FLB | TLS-HBE-AAN-HYD-UTP-DVO-DJJ-HIR-NAN | December 29th |
| Airbus A320-272N | Vietnam | VN-A514 | TLS-DOH-NAN | December 29th |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Air India Express | VT-BWD* | BFI-KEF-KWI-HYD | December 30th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-ICX | XFW-DEL | December 30th |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-NCA | XFW-DEL | December 30th |
| Airbus A350-941 | Korean Air | HL8597 | TLS-PUS | December 30th |
| ATR 72-600 | Air Tahiti | F-OPFS | TLS-CAI-MCT-HYD-SZB-DPS-CNS-NAN-PPT | December 31st |
| Airbus A320-251N | China Eastern | B-32KE | XFW-NQZ-PVG | December 31st |
| Airbus A321-251NX | China Southern | B-32K2 | XFW-NQZ-CAN | December 31st |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-IWV | XFW-DEL | December 31st |
| Airbus A321-251NX | IndiGo | VT-IWT | XFW-DEL | December 31st |
| Airbus A320-271N | Sichuan | B-32KL | TLS-TAS-TFU | December 31st |
| Airbus A321-271NX | VietJet | VN-A547 | XFW-DXB-SGN | December 31st |
| Airbus A320-251N | China Eastern | B-32LF | XFW-NQZ-PVG | January 1st |
| Airbus A321-271NX | VietJet | VN-A549 | XFW-DXB-SGN | January 1st |
| Airbus A319-153N | China Southern | B-32JY | XFW-NQZ-CAN | January 2nd |
| Airbus A321-251NX | China Southern | B-32K3 | XFW-NQZ-CAN | January 3rd |
| Airbus A321-251NX | Jetstar | VH-OYW | XFW-MCT-KUL-MEL | January 4th |
| ATR 72-600 | Fiji Airways | DQ-FLC | TLS-CAI-AAN-HYD-UTP-DVO-DJJ-HIR-NAN | January 5th |
| Airbus A320-251N | Hainan | B-32K6 | TLS-MCT-HAK | January 11th |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Malaysia | 9M-MVG | BFI-HNL-GUM-KUL | January 13th |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | China Eastern | B-20CC* | BFI-HNL-GUM-PVG | January 14th |
| Airbus A320-271N | FlyArystan | EI-KFD | TLS-ALA | January 15th |
| Airbus A319-153N | West Air | B-32JM | XFW-MCT-CKG | January 16th |
| Boeing 787-9 | Korean Air | HL8392* | PAE-ICN | January 17th |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Air India Express | VT-BWK* | BFI-KEF-KWI-HYD | January 18th |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | Air China | B-20E3* | BFI-HNL-GUM-PEK | January 21st |
*It is not new from the factory.
Other reports we have published
Cover photo: Tomasz Habaj – JetPhotos (Sydney Kingsford Smith Int’l Airport – YSSY – Australia)
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