Qantas launches historic new 15-hour nonstop route from Sydney: see map now. Published Nov 6, 2026, 6:00 AM EST James lives and breathes route development. Educated in Air Transport Management at Loughborough University and Cranfield University, James has a PhD in Airline Strategy and Economics. James was Market Opportunity Analyst at London Luton Airport and Chief Analyst at anna.aero. He taught airline strategy and economics to undergraduate and postgraduate students for five years and has worked closely with multiple carriers on route and market intelligence projects. He is based near London, UK. In an unexpected and highly intriguing network development, Qantas has announced a brand-new long-haul route. The oneworld member will begin flying from Sydney to the increasingly popular Cape Town. It'll be historical in various ways. For example, it'll become Qantas' record third route to South Africa, while being the first time that Australia has had flights to Cape Town. It'll also be Cape Town's new longest route within the Southern Hemisphere. However, it will be far from Qantas' longest nonstop service on the Boeing 787. Qantas reveals new Sydney to Cape Town route. On October 19, 2027, during the spring in the Southern Hemisphere, Qantas will lift off from its busiest and critical hub of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Cape Town International Airport (CPT). On a great circle basis, the brand-new route will cover 5,945 nautical miles (11,010 km) each way. As this represents the shortest distance between two airports, real-world operations will increase that distance. There won't be any payload restriction, which means a full load of passengers and belly freight. | Days | SYD To CPT; Local Times | CPT To SYD; Local Times | | Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays | QF89: 10:15 AM-3:55 PM (same-day arrival; 14 hours and 40 minutes) | QF90: 5:55 PM-2:50 PM+1 (12 hours and 55 minutes) | Like so many new routes, SYD-CPT will be flown three times weekly. Given the block time and stage length of the airport pair, this means that one Boeing 787-9 will be able to operate it. All of Qantas' 787-9s have 236 seats, which is not many. That's mainly because they're quite premium, with 42 seats in business (1-2-1), 28 in premium economy (2-3-2; 38" pitch), and 166 in economy (3-3-3; 32"). Around 18% of the capacity is in business. What are the numbers behind this new route? Booking data shows that 87,000 round-trip passengers flew between Australia and CPT in 2025, with traffic up by nearly a fifth compared to 2024. While many South Africans live in Australia, it is unclear how many come from the CPT area. Many of the passengers would have been Australians visiting the increasingly popular city for tourism. Unsurprisingly, SYD was the largest market to/from CPT. With around 23,000 passengers, the local traffic was not overly high, although the new nonstop flights may grow that by around 40%. The airline will also target passengers connecting to Auckland Airport (AKL), Brisbane, and Melbourne, in particular, with those places having around 42,000 passengers. Zoom in & out! 4 Airports 18,842 Network mi Drag to explore Up to 5 weekly Map: Simple Flying Significantly, SYD-CPT is relatively high-yielding, with the average fare across all airlines, cabins, and passengers being US$1,335 one way (excluding taxes but including a fuel surcharge). Reflecting higher premium demand, the average fare for SYD-CPT is around 12% higher than for SYD to Johannesburg's O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB). Interestingly, SYD-CPT flights will cover marginally less distance than SYD-JNB. As such, the fare difference is particularly notable, especially when coupled with similar operating expenses. Commenting on the new route, senior airline network planner, African specialist, and industry commentator Behramjee Ghadially said that: "This new service will perform very well for Qantas, seeing how the Aussies love to visit new exotic places, especially where a combination of beach, wine and safari can be experienced in an upscale manner [although most safari-related activities are in eastern South Africa]. Qantas will also target tour operators selling South Africa packages from Australia and New Zealand as they can now offer an open-jaw itinerary for their clientele, such as flying into JNB and flying back from CPT using the same airline." Qantas now has three routes to South Africa. As the above map shows, Qantas will now fly from SYD to CPT and JNB, along with from Perth International Airport (PER) to JNB. The latter route is the only one on which the airline has head-to-head competition, as it competes directly with the troubled South African Airways. It is also the one on which Qantas deploys an Airbus twinjet. OAG data shows that Qantas flew between PER and JNB until 2023, with the route, which is nearly entirely overwater, returning 11 months ago, in December 2025. The operating A330-200 flies AKL-PER-JNB-PER-AKL. At some point, it then operates to SYD, where the specific airframe is switched.

Qantas warns airfares may rise and flight capacity drop amid US-Iran war. Cameron MicallefNewsWire 5 November 2026, 5:45pm Higher ticket prices could be on the way for Qantas customers, as surging fuel costs due to the US-Iran war hit hard. On Friday, Qantas used its annual general meeting to release forecasts of its mounting fuel bill which will surge to $3.75bn in the first six months alone. This is up from $2.6bn over the first half of last year. In response Qantas said it "will continue to adjust fares and capacity in response to higher fuel costs," the airline said. This follows an announcement in August where the 'Spirit of Australia' said it would cut back 5 per cent of domestic capacity and exit unprofitable international routes. Despite rising fuel prices Qantas statutory profits came in at $1.29bn, down $316m from last year. Qantas chair John Mullen said it was a tale of two years with the first half starting strong before the war began in late February. "(Chief executive Vanessa Hudson) and the management team moved quickly, adjusting fares and capacity among other things, which helped reduce the net impact on earnings for the year to $420 million, despite a fuel bill that was $610 million higher than expected," he said. When asked by shareholders when ticket prices would be reduced again, should the war in Iran end, Mr Mullen said "we are not immune, we have done better than many airlines have, but it is very hard to tell you where we will be in three months." First non-stop flights to Cape Town. Qantas also announced a trial route flying between Sydney and Cape Town in South Africa from October 2027 to March 2028. The new route, made possible by incoming 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, will add almost 30,000 seats between Australia and South Africa and comes 75 years after Qantas first flew to South Africa via the old "Wallaby Route". It follows a surge in demand, with more than 120,000 Australians visiting South Africa last year and Australia overtaking Germany as the third-largest overseas source market for the African nation. Qantas international chief executive Cam Wallace said the new flights follow thousands of Australians wanting to visit Cape Town every year. "Cape Town is a true bucket-list city and Australia's appetite to visit has never been stronger. Each year, tens of thousands of customers use our existing Johannesburg services to connect to Cape Town through our partner airlines Airlink, so we know there's strong demand for a non-stop service," he said. More to come

Qantas shares down on update: Should I buy the dip? Let's see if Australia's flag-carrier airline is in the buy zone. Published November 6, 11:25 am AEDT Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares are trading lower on Friday after the airline released a market update ahead of its annual general meeting. The update contained some disappointing news for investors. But could this be an opportunity to buy? What did Qantas announce? The biggest concern in Qantas' update was the rising cost of fuel. Management now expects its fuel bill to reach approximately $3.75 billion in the first half of FY 2027. This is up $150 million from its previous forecast. And with fuel prices expected to remain elevated throughout the financial year, there's a risk that these additional costs could weigh on profitability. However, there was also some encouraging news. The Flying Kangaroo revealed that demand for international travel remains strong, while domestic leisure travel is holding up well. Importantly, the airline maintained its guidance for domestic and international total revenue per available seat kilometre to increase by 8% to 10% during the first half. This appears to suggest that Qantas is having some success in adjusting airfares and flight capacity to account for higher fuel costs. The company also reaffirmed its expectation that Qantas Loyalty will deliver underlying earnings growth of 5% to 7% in FY 2027. Would I buy the dip? Despite the challenges facing Qantas, I think there is a buying opportunity for long-term investors. One reason is that the airline has demonstrated an ability to respond to rising costs through pricing and capacity adjustments. Of course, there's a limit to how much airlines can increase fares before customers start looking for cheaper alternatives or travelling less. But with demand remaining resilient, I believe Qantas is in a reasonable position to manage the current environment. I'm also feeling positive about the company's longer-term prospects. Qantas is investing heavily in renewing its aircraft fleet, with newer planes expected to deliver fuel efficiency improvements of up to 15% to 25% per seat on comparable routes. This could deliver substantial savings over time, while allowing the airline to offer customers new destinations and services. Its Project Sunrise initiative, which will introduce ultra-long-haul flights, is another opportunity to strengthen its international operations. And with Qantas Loyalty continuing to grow, the company has an additional earnings stream that isn't directly exposed to aviation fuel costs. Higher fuel prices are certainly a challenge, and I wouldn't rule out further weakness in the company's shares. Nevertheless, I believe Qantas has attractive long-term growth opportunities that extend well beyond the current financial year. For that reason, and with its shares down 15% from their high, I'd be happy to take advantage of Friday's weakness and buy Qantas shares for the long term.