Superjumbos lift alliance into the air
Qantas and Emirates say bookings have rocketed in the nine weeks leading up to the launch of the new "Kangaroo route".
Qantas says bookings for trips to Europe have gone up six-fold as its first flight in partnership with Emirates Airline took off yesterday.
Chief executive officer Alan Joyce says the bookings have been made in the first nine weeks of sales.
The alliance lifts the range of one-stop (via Dubai) destinations in Europe on the old "Kangaroo route" from five previously to 30. The new Dubai hub also cuts average journey times by more than two hours from Melbourne and Sydney to the top 10 European destinations, Mr Joyce says.
In addition, the alliance offers another 35 destinations the Middle East and North Africa.
Meanwhile, Emirates says bookings by its customers on Qantas' domestic network is up almost seven times during the same nine-week booking period.
Qantas is also receving bookings from travellers outside of its traditional markets, including Bangaladesh, Pakistan, India and Malaysia, for flights between Dubai and London.
The launch of the alliance yesterday was marked by a double fly over in Sydney by two of the airlines’ flagship A380 superjumbos.
All daily Emirates flights from New Zealand from Auckland and Christchurch connect directly with Qantas-Emirates network.
Nevil Gibson
Mon, 01 Apr 2013
Mon, 01 Apr 2013
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Superjumbos lift alliance into the air
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