After five years flying through Dubai, Qantas will shift its London-bound flights back to Singapore from March next year.
The change is part of an “evolution” of the recently extended Qantas-Emirates partnership which launched in 2013 and saw Qantas drop Singapore as its stopover hub for European flights.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the changes in the Emirates partnership allowed for the airline to focus more on the Asia boom.
“Our partnership has evolved to a point where Qantas no longer needs to fly its own aircraft through Dubai, and that means we can redirect some of our A380 flying into Singapore and meet the strong demand we’re seeing in Asia,” Joyce said.
Changes will allow for Qantas passengers to reach London via Perth, Dubai or Singapore on either Qantas or Emirates metal.
The flagship Qantas QF1/2 will now route via Singapore from Sydney on its way to Heathrow. The existing MEL-DXB-LHR flight will be replaced with the previously announced MEL-PER-LHR long-haul route, while one of the two daily Singapore to Melbourne services will be upgraded an A380, providing an alternative for Melbournians to reach London.
