Qantas deploys A330s on weekday Australian domestic network

AUSTRALIAN flag carrier Qantas will deploy wide-body Airbus A330s on all weekday Sydney-Perth and Melbourne-Perth services effective from May 2013.

A new Qantas A330, which landed in Sydney this morning from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, will become the ninth A330 flying on the Qantas domestic network and will start passenger flights within weeks.

Qantas domestic CEO Lyell Strambi, who unveiled the new aircraft to 1,000 Qantas employees at an event in Sydney, said the A330 aircraft was a vital part of the Qantas domestic strategy.

Qantas has 30 wide-body aircraft operating on domestic routes in Australia, made up of A330s and B767s. With the A330s, next generation Boeing 737-800 and a growing fleet of regional aircraft including the Boeing 717 for intra-West Australian and Queensland routes and Bombardier Q400 aircraft, Qantas is well positioned for growth in Australia, said Mr Strambi.

"The Qantas Group has taken delivery of 24 next-generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft with individual entertainment units for all passengers and over the next 12 months another eight will join the fleet.

By March, Qantas will have refurbished 16 Boeing 767 (B767) aircraft with new interiors and individual inflight entertainment streamed direct to iPads in every seat.

In the past 12 months Qantas has resumed services from Sydney to the Gold Coast, built new lounges at Gold Coast, Gladstone, Mackay, Emerald, Davenport and Rockhampton airport, commenced services to a number of new regional and Fly-In-Fly-Out destinations and introduced a number of new initiatives to improve customer experiences including free wi-fi at airports and dedicated premium boarding.