Qantas deal with Perth Airport opens up scope for non-stop Auckland flights

Qantas and Perth Airport have reached an agreement which will unlock a multi-billion-dollar wave of investment and deliver new international and domestic flights, giving a major boost to Australia’s tourism industry.

As part of the 12-year agreement, Perth Airport will invest around $A3 billion ($3.25b) in new terminal facilities and a new parallel runway.

Perth Airport will also invest in upgrades to Terminals 3 and 4, the current home of Qantas domestic and international flights, to create additional capacity while the new terminals are built.

The Terminal 3 and 4 upgrades will enable Qantas to add services and more destinations from Perth, including Auckland and Johannesburg from mid-2025, subject to meeting border agency requirements.

Qantas has flown non-stop between Auckland and Perth before on the 7-hour 30min flight. But the route is now flown only by Air New Zealand and Malaysian carrier Batik Air, which uses a narrow body Boeing Max plane.

Qantas’ return would help push down prices and also provide options for one-stop flights to Europe as the airline flies to Rome and to London directly from Perth.

Qantas has been adding capacity to existing transtasman routes and during the past eight months and has been scoping new routes between Australia and NZ as it adds to its fleet.

No decisions on restoring the Auckland service have been taken.

Qantas and Perth Airport have also agreed on the need for and timing of the new parallel runway which is expected to be open in 2028.

This will form part of a $5b ($5.42b) capital investment program by Perth Airport – the largest ever private infrastructure development in Perth – which will also deliver two multi-storey carparks, major access roadworks, and the airport’s first hotel.

Qantas and Jetstar plan to add 4.4 million seats to and from Perth annually by the time the new terminal opens in 2031.

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the agreement was the largest airport infrastructure deal in its history.

“It will enable us to create a world-class western hub and significantly expand our domestic and international services over the short, medium and long term,” she said.

“Not only will it allow us to bring hundreds of thousands more travellers to and through Western Australia each year, it will also make it easier for overseas tourists to connect to more destinations across Australia.”

Perth-London and Perth-Rome are two of the most popular flights the Qantas international network and “gives us confidence in our strategy to ramp up WA flying over the next few years as we receive new aircraft and grow our fleet”.

The works will also include gate upgrades to accommodate ultra-long-haul aircraft, including its Project Sunrise Airbus A350-1000s which arrive from 2026.

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.