Qantas to activate five Embraer E190s

On Friday Australian flag-carrier Qantas announced that it would activate a further five Embraer E190 aircraft in Adelaide, as part of a plan to boost domestic travel and add more routes in response to a growing demand in leisure and corporate travel. The Embraer E190 aircraft, having a layout of 94 seats and a five-hour range, would be deployed in Adelaide as part of a deal with Alliance Airlines. An agreement was signed to provide the national carrier with the extra capacity of Alliance’s recently acquired 14 Embraer jets, depending on market conditions.

Qantas are already using three Alliance Embraer aircraft, the first three aircraft commenced operating on Qantas’s behalf on the 25th of May, while the additional five will start work from the 21st June. Each option is for an initial three-year period, and the remaining six options are still in place.

ALLIANCE EMBRAER ERJ-190 VH-UYW (MSN 174) 

“The E190 is a great aircraft for the Adelaide market, with its size, range and economics opening up a number of new destinations that wouldn’t be viable with the larger 737 aircraft,” Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce said. “Instead of one or two flights a day with a larger aircraft, we can offer three or four flights a day on the E190, which gives customers a lot more choice about when they travel.” With extra capacity for the domestic market, Qantas will launch more routes from Adelaide to other destinations, such as Gold Coast, Canberra and Darwin beginning June 2021. The five E190 aircraft would be able to carry almost one million additional passengers to and from Adelaide each year. Furthermore the five Embraer E190s, which will be repainted in the Qantaslink colour scheme, would help the Australian airline grow its domestic capacity to 107% of pre-COVID-19 levels in the fiscal year of 2022. Additionally, the newly activated E190s would free up Qantas’ Boeing 737 aircraft to be deployed across other domestic routes. “We’re continuing to see really positive signs of sustained recovery, with strong travel demand and forward bookings expected to see our domestic capacity back above 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels in the coming months,” Joyce added. The boosted services are expected to increase Qantas’ domestic capacity to 107% above pre-pandemic levels, with the airline’s budget arm Jetstar set to hit 120%. It also announced additional services from Adelaide to Sydney and Melbourne will be added to schedules across both Qantas and Jetstar.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the new additions to the fleet have been added to meet demand and give customers more flight options by “opening up a number of new destinations that wouldn’t [otherwise] be viable.” 

“Instead of one or two flights a day with a larger aircraft, we can offer three or four flights a day…which gives customers a lot more choice about when they travel,” Joyce said.

Qantas will launch the new Adelaide-Gold Coast service in time for the S A winter school holidays.

From the 25th June, South Australians will be able to fly direct to the Gold Coast with Qantas, with four return services per week, increasing to daily during school holiday peaks. To celebrate the launch Qantas is offering special fares from $149 one-way.