Australia will welcome ten new and returning international passenger routes in December. Many have already started. Some are particularly notable, such as Jetstar beginning the first-ever nonstop service between Australia and Cebu.
They add to the raft of international links that took off in November. They included Virgin Australia from Melbourne to Doha, its fourth and final route to the Middle East on behalf of Qatar Airways, and Jetstar from Perth to Manila. Among other additions, Cathay Pacific returned to Adelaide, and Malaysia Airlines resumed service to Brisbane.
These International Routes Begin In December
Six Australian cities are involved. It is particularly good to see smaller places, like Adelaide and Darwin, gain new international links. Moreover, three of the ten additions are brand-new; no airlines have ever served the stated city pair. And most of the other markets are new to the relevant carrier’s network.
Notice that the table includes three US carriers: 
American, Delta, and United. American has doubled its routes to the Queensland capital, while Delta now serves Melbourne. All routes begin during the summer Down Under and in time for Christmas, with higher demand and fares.
The most notable development is United from 
San Francisco to Adelaide. Taking off from its Pacific hub on December 11, it’ll arrive in South Australia at 9:30 am on December 13. It’ll be the first time that Adelaide has had North American flights. United will now serve four Australian cities: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
|
Airline |
Route |
December Operations* |
Served By The Carrier Before? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
American |
Los Angeles-Brisbane |
Three weekly 787-9 |
No. Supplements Delta and Qantas. It’s the first time the market has had three airlines |
|
China Southern |
Guangzhou-Darwin |
Three weekly 737 MAX 8 |
No. Brand-new market |
|
Delta |
Los Angeles-Melbourne |
Three weekly A350-900 |
No. Supplements Qantas and United. Last had three carriers in 2020, when Virgin Australia operated |
|
Hong Kong Airlines |
Hong Kong-Melbourne |
Three weekly A330-300 |
No. Supplements Cathay and Qantas. Last had three airlines in 2020, when Virgin Australia operated |
|
Jetstar |
Brisbane-Cebu |
Three weekly A321LR |
No. Brand-new market |
|
Qantas |
Perth-Auckland |
Three weekly A330-200 |
Yes. Flown until 2018. Supplements Qantas. Batik Air Malaysia’s 737s (!) served this market until 2024, with flights starting/ending in Kuala Lumpur |
|
Qantas |
Perth-Johannesburg |
Three weekly A330-200 |
Yes. Flown until 2023. Supplements South African Airways |
|
Qantas |
Sydney-Sapporo |
Three weekly A330-200 |
Yes. Flown until 2020 |
|
Shenzhen Airlines |
Shenzhen-Melbourne |
Three weekly A330-300 |
No. China Southern last served the city pair in 2020 |
|
United |
San Francisco-Adelaide |
Three weekly 787-9 |
No. Brand-new market |
|
* May vary at other times |
Qantas Recommences 2 International Routes From Perth
On December 7, Qantas lifted off from Auckland to Perth. According to Flightradar24, it deployed the 15.1-year-old VH-EBP, which had arrived in New Zealand from Melbourne the day before. Also on December 7, the same frame flew from Perth to Johannesburg. It then operated Johannesburg-Perth-Auckland.
This setup is, of course, deliberate. But it is not an official one-stop ‘direct’ route, as each leg has different flight numbers. Nonetheless, it is timed for passengers to connect in Western Australia to reach New Zealand’s most populous city. According to booking data, the market had 27,000 passengers in the 12 months to September.
South Africa-Australia is a good-sized market, with more than 200,000 South African-born people living there. After Sydney, Perth has the highest number of them. This mainly drives the traffic, with Perth-Johannesburg having 40,000 passengers. Of course, passengers can also connect in Perth to reach other Australian cities, including Adelaide (8,000), Brisbane (28,000), and Melbourne (24,000). This will speed up their journey compared to connecting in Sydney with Qantas.
29 Hours: China Eastern Begins World’s New Longest 1-Stop Route
It has a longer duration and covers more distance than any other one-stop scheduled passenger service.
Darwin Has Flights From China Again
The market from mainland China to the capital of the Northern Territory is tiny. According to booking data, only a few thousand people traveled in the year to September. But that almost misses the point. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the market had 36,000 round-trip passengers in 2019. That was primarily due to Donghai Airlines, which operated a nonstop service from Shenzhen to Darwin.
China Southern is betting on redeveloping the market with the start of the first-ever flights from Guangzhou (an enormous city in itself and very close to Shenzhen) and Darwin. Covering 2,376 nautical miles (4,400 km) each way, Cirium Diio data shows that it is China Southern’s new second-longest narrowbody-operated nonstop service by distance. Only Guangzhou-Port Moresby covers more ground.
