Qantas has announced a new direct service between Perth and Paris, commencing on 12 July 2024, marking an addition to its existing routes between Australia and Europe. This new route is introduced in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the European summer.
This service follows the earlier direct flights from Perth to London and Rome. The new year-round route re-establishes Qantas’s presence in the French capital, cutting around three hours off the current fastest travel time from Perth to Paris, after nearly two decades.
Initially, the 17-hour Perth-Paris flights will operate four days per week during the peak European summer season, adjusting to three per week from mid-August 2024. These flights will be serviced by Qantas’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Qantas Group CEO, Vanessa Hudson, mentioned that the airline is pleased to add Paris back on the Qantas route map with a direct link from Australia to the French capital. “This route has been on our wish list for a while and we think customers will be as pleased as we are to see it go on sale today,” Hudson said. She noted the popularity of the direct flights to London and Rome, anticipating a strong demand for the new Paris service as well.
Unique to Qantas, this direct service avoids stopovers (if you’re based in Perth), catering mainly to the Australian market. The airline’s in-flight service is designed with long-haul travel in mind. This new schedule is expected to add more than 75,000 seats annually between Australia and Europe. In collaboration with Tourism WA, Qantas aims to attract more tourists to Perth, as direct flights are a major factor in travel decisions.
The introduction of new aircraft and an increase in flight frequencies is expected to raise the Qantas Group’s international capacity to above 90% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, returning to 100% by mid-next year.
These flights will operate through Qantas’ existing terminal at Perth Airport (Terminal 3), facilitating seamless connections to other domestic destinations in Australia. Discussions are ongoing between Qantas and Perth Airport regarding the possibility of moving operations to Terminal 1.
WA Premier, Roger Cook, acknowledged the new direct flight, which reinforces Western Australia’s position as a global entry point to Australia. This aviation service is seen as crucial to attracting travellers to Western Australia, thereby supporting economic growth and job creation in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
The Paris service also provides customers with more options for connecting to over 70 destinations across the region, including Barcelona, Munich, Frankfurt, and Athens, and 12 destinations within France through Qantas’ network of partners.
A “circle fare” has also been introduced, allowing Qantas customers to fly into Paris and return to Australia from London or Rome on one ticket. The fares, starting from $1,899 from Perth, are available until 2 November, unless sold out earlier, via qantas.com and through Travel Agents.
For passengers on the east coast, the time-saving aspect of this direct flight may not be as significant when compared to one-stop flights via hub cities such as Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, or Tokyo.
Flight schedules:
– QF33/QF34 Perth-Paris (787) (lights available from Sydney)
– QF9/QF10 Perth-London (787)
– QF5/QF6 Perth-Rome (787)
– QF1/QF2 Sydney-Singapore-London (A380)
