Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia, is set to rediuce its weekly flights from Sydney to Johannesburg. Currently operating six weekly Airbus A380 flights between Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, Qantas will scale back to four weekly flights starting in February 2026.
This change aligns with the airline’s plan to launch a new direct service from Perth to Johannesburg by the end of 2025. Once the Perth-Johannesburg route begins, Qantas will offer daily direct flights between Australia and South Africa, enhancing overall connectivity.
From February 2026, Qantas’ Sydney departures will take off at 17:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays, and 17:15 on Thursdays and Saturdays. These 14-hour, 50-minute direct flights, operated by the Airbus A380, will arrive in Johannesburg at either 14:30 or 14:15, respectively.
26 May 2025
Australia: Qantas to reduce weekly flights between Sydney <> Johannesburg!
07 May 2025
Australia: Qantas reintroduces direct flights between Perth and Johannesburg!
Australia’s national airline, Qantas, is set to resume its direct service between Perth Airport (PER) in Perth in Western Australia and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg from 07 December 2025. The new route will operate three times a week - on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays - using the Airbus A330, featuring 27 business class seats with lie-flat beds and direct aisle access, along with 224 economy seats.
The Perth <> Johannesburg route was previously suspended in October 2003 and briefly reinstated in November 2022. However, operations were halted again on 25 March 2023 due to terminal infrastructure constraints at Perth Airport (PER). In May 2024, Qantas and Perth Airport (PER) reached a new agreement to upgrade terminal facilities, paving the way for the route’s return in December 2025.
Travellers can also enjoy seamless connections to Cape Town and other destinations through Qantas’ partnership with Airlink.
28 April 2025
Southern Africa: Qantas and Airlink expand codeshare agreement!
Australia’s national carrier, Qantas, and South African regional airline, Airlink, have expanded their existing codeshare partnership, offering travellers even greater access across Southern Africa. Under the enhanced agreement, Qantas passengers can now book flights under the QF code on Airlink-operated services to three new African countries: Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This expansion creates seamless connections for Qantas customers travelling between Sydney and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, making it easier than ever to explore some of Africa’s most iconic destinations. New codeshare routes include:
- Gaborone in Botswana
- Livingstone and Lusaka in Zambia
- Victoria Falls and Harare in Zimbabwe
These additions join the airlines' network of codeshare destinations across South Africa and Namibia, offering passengers the convenience of single ticket itineraries, through check-in for baggage, and frequent flyer benefits for eligible travelers.
Qantas codeshare flights operated by Airlink (departing from Johannesburg):
- South Africa:
- Bloemfontein
- Cape Town
- Durban
- East London
- George
- Hoedspruit (Kruger National Park)
- Kruger Mpumalanga (Nelspruit)
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- Skukuza (Kruger National Park)
- Botswana:
- Gaborone
- Maun
- Namibia:
- Windhoek
- Walvis Bay
- Zambia:
- Livingstone
- Lusaka
- Zimbabwe:
- Bulawayo
- Harare
- Victoria Falls
01 October 2024
Australia: Qantas starts Airbus A380 flights to South Africa!
The flag carrier of Australia, Qantas, has operated the first Airbus A380 flight between Australia and South Africa on 30 September 2024. The A380 will fly up to six times per week between Sydney Airport (SYC) in Sydney and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and will see a near-doubling of capacity, with an extra 130,000 seats between Australia and Africa every year.
The Qantas Airbus A380 has capacity for 485 passengers across four cabins, with the introduction of the Superjumbo seeing a return of First Class on the route for the first time since 2018. Qantas First features 14 individual suites arranged in an exclusive 1-1-1 configuration and convert into a 212-centimetre bed. The upgauge will also more than double the number of Premium Economy seats available between the cities.
Qantas also intends to relaunch direct flights from Perth to Johannesburg from mid-2025, subject to meeting border agency requirements.
Qantas & Airlink sign codeshare agreement!
The flag carrier of Australia, Qantas, and South African regional airline, Airlink, have signed a codeshare agreement. Qantas will add its airline code ("QF") on Airlink’s domestic network, enabling seamless connectivity between Qantas' flights to OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and nine South African destinations, including Cape Town, Durban and Hoedspruit. The airline is planning to add additional Airlink destinations in nearby southern African countries over the coming months, pending regulatory approval. We'll keep you posted!
03 June 2024
Australia: Qantas is planning to resume flights between Perth <> Johannesburg!
Qantas, the flag carrier airline of Australia, is planing to resume scheduled flights between Perth and Johannesburg. The airline and Perth Airport (PER), the international airport serving Perth in Western Australia, have recently signed a commercial agreement which will stimulate a multi-billion-dollar wave of investment and deliver new international and domestic flights. As part of the agreement, Perth Airport (PER) will invest in upgrades to Terminals 3 and 4, which will enable Qantas to add services and more destinations from Perth, including Auckland Airport (AKL) in Auckland, New Zealand, and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa, from mid-2025, subject to meeting border agency requirements. We'll keep you posted!
25 June 2022
Australia: Qantas to launch the only direct service from Perth to South Africa! [update]
update (25 October 2022): According to news reports from Australia, Qantas' service between Perth in Western Australia and Johannesburg will take off as planned on 01 November 2022, but will only run until 25 March 2023, when the route will be “suspended until further notice.” We'll keep you posted!
The flag carrier of Australia, Qantas, is set to launch the only direct service from Perth in Western Australia to South Africa. Effective 01 November 2022, the airline will operate three weekly flights between Perth Airport (PER) in Perth and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg. The flights will cut more than six hours from the fastest current travel time, with customers heading to Johannesburg from Perth currently having to fly on Qantas via Sydney, or via the Middle East. The airline will operate the new route on board its Airbus A330 aircraft.
Qantas existing four flights per week from Sydney Airport (SYD) in Sydney to Johannesburg on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft will increase to daily from 30 October 2022.
22 October 2021
Qantas to resume flights between Sydney <> Johannesburg in January 2022! [update]
update (04 January 2021): Qantas Airways flight QF63 is scheduled to land at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) this afternoon.
The flag carrier of Australia, Qantas, has announced that it will bring forward the restart of more international flights to popular destinations from Sydney. This includes fligths to OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Qantas flights between Sydney Airport (SYD) in Sydney and Johannesburg will resume on 04 05 January 2022, three months earlier than scheduled. Three return flights a week will be operated by a Boeing 787 aircraft.
The faster ramp up follows the Australian and New South Wales governments confirming that the country's international borders would reopen from 01 November 2021 and the decision by the New South Wales Government to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated arrivals – which significantly increases travel demand.
31 August 2021
Qantas will resume flights between Australia <> South Africa in 2022!
The flag carrier of Australia, Qantas, has provided more detail on preparations for restarting its international flights, with plans linked to the vaccine rollout in Australia and key overseas markets. Australia is expected reach the critical threshold of 80% of the adult population fully vaccinated in December 2021 ("National Cabinet's Phase C"), triggering the gradual reopening of international borders. Qantas' key markets like the UK, North America and parts of Asia have also high and increasing levels of vaccination. This makes them highly likely to be classed as low risk countries for vaccinated travellers to visit and return from under reduced quarantine requirements, pending decisions by the Australian Government and entry policies of other countries. Flights to destinations that still have low vaccine rates and high levels of Covid-19 infection will now be pushed out from December 2021 until April 2022. This includes, among others, flights to OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa. We'll keep you posted!
20 July 2015
Qantas to reduce flights to Johannesburg!
21 February 2014
South African Airways & Qantas cancel codeshare agreement
All SAA ticketed code share passengers on Qantas flights will be accommodated onto the Qantas flight number QF064 and QF063 and transported to their final destination. All SAA unticketed code share passengers who had booked SA7700 and SA7701 on Johannesburg - Sydney - Johannesburg will be re-accommodated on South African Airways' Perth operations. Please contact South African Airways' call centre for further information.
18 September 2012
Qantas & South African Airways scored two year extension of code-share alliance
South Africa's flag carrier, South African Airways, and Australia's national carrier, Qantas, have been granted a two-year extension of their code-share alliance on flights between Johannesburg and Sydney in Australia.
Qantas had applied for a four-year extension to the agreement with the International Air Services Commission (IASC), but the independent Australian Government agency only granted approval for two additional years. The IASC said in a statement that it was not satisfied that the code share would be of benefit to the public beyond 31 December 2014.
Qantas and South African Airways are currently the only carriers that operate nonstop flights between Australian airports and South Africa. The two airlines started to code-share flights between Australia and South Africa in December 2000. For more information on the decision of the IASC click here (pdf).
10 April 2012
Qantas announces new baggage policy
The piece and weight baggage system is also used by a number of oneworld™ carriers such as British Airways and American Airlines.
The new international policy will apply to all tickets issued on or after 2 May 2012 for Qantas international flights and oneworld™ partner flights with a "QF" flight number.
Qantas is currently offering flights to 20 domestic destinations and 21 international destinations in 14 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania excluding the destinations served by its subsidiaries. In the entire Qantas group it serves 60 domestic and 27 international destinations.
25 October 2010
Kenya Airways announces its Code Share with Qantas
The code share agreement is giving Qantas passengers the opportunity to access the 41 destinations flown by Kenya Airways in Africa and will also complement Qantas’ direct flights between Sydney and Johannesburg, which will be increased to a daily frequency.
“Qantas is pleased to be able to increase the options available for Australians travelling to Africa,” Mr Gurney said. “There is considerable potential for growth in business and leisure travel between Australia and Kenya. This new code share arrangement positions both airlines well to capitalise on that potential." (Group Executive Qantas Airlines Commercial, Mr Rob Gurney)Code share services between Qantas and Kenya Airways are on sale now for travel from 15 November 2010. [src.]
