• Emirates will end its daily flights between Melbourne and Singapore due to uncompetitive scheduling and an older business class cabin.
• Several airlines, including Etihad, Turkish Airlines and China Southern, are increasing flights to Australia.
• Qantas has launched flights from Brisbane to Port Vila and will resume flights to Manila. Jetstar is expanding its Gold Coast-New Zealand connections, adding flights to Hamilton and Dunedin from June 2025.

It’s only a few weeks in but already September has seen announcements about new and resuming flights to Australia, as well as one high-profile exit. Overall, it’s a net gain, and the extra capacity gives passengers more choice and puts downward pressure on ticket prices, which is a win for consumers.

Emirates to end Singapore – Melbourne flights

Emirates has confirmed that it will end its daily flights on the Melbourne – Singapore city pair, although it is yet to say when.

The pre-dawn departure out of Melbourne and the last-generation business class cabin on the B777-300ER that operated the sector was uncompetitive with other full-service operators on the route, including Turkish Airlines, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines. But the Singapore to Melbourne sector was a daytime flight with decent Qantas reward seat availability and was popular with many travellers.

Emirates needs to iron out a few details with competition authorities before quitting the route, given it was a component of an approved alliance between it and Qantas. Emirates will continue to fly double-dailies between Melbourne and Dubai.

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Flight upgrades at Sydney Airport

If that’s the bad news, there is plenty of good news going around if you travel in and out of Australia. Next July, Etihad will increase its daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Sydney to ten per week, although it is yet to say on which days it will go double daily.

Etihad’s rebooted strategy revolves around building frequencies to existing destinations rather than trying to fly to as many airports as possible.

At Sydney Airport, Turkish Airlines will start flying four days per week from early December, complementing the existing three-day-per-week flights to Melbourne. Unlike the Melbourne flights, which operate from Istanbul via Singapore, the Sydney flights will operate via Kuala Lumpur, with the last leg through to Sydney being a daylight flight into Australia from Asia.

Malaysian Airlines does fly to Sydney twice a day, including during daylight hours, but the Turkish flight provides a Star Alliance option and a bit of competition – for a time at least. The Kuala Lumpur stopover will be relatively short-lived. Once Turkish Airlines gets an aircraft with the range to do so, it says it will fly Istanbul – Sydney nonstop.

Receiving a little less fanfare, Cebu Pacific will go daily on the Sydney – Manila city pair from December 1, competing with Qantas and Philippine Airlines on the route. The Cebu flights are not flash – they fit 459 people on the Airbus A330-900neo operating the flight, but it will be inexpensive and it will get you into Manila quickly and safely.

China Southern brings its Dreamliner back to Adelaide

China Southern is making its return to Adelaide after axing flights in 2020. The airline will fly three times per week on the Guangzhou – Adelaide city pair from December 12 using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and will be the only Chinese carrier regularly flying into South Australia.

China Southern will operate overnight to Adelaide every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and head back to Guangzhou every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, flying through the day.

More Qantas flights from Brisbane

Qantas has started flying to Port Vila from Brisbane, with thrice weekly B737-800 flights now operating every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Traveller numbers to Vanuatu have taken a hit this year with Air Vanuatu in liquidation and not flying.

However, that’s encouraged Australian carriers to pay the market some more attention. Virgin Australia has increased its flights to Port Vila, and Jetstar will start flights from Sydney in mid-December. Despite it being just three hours flying time away, Qantas has never before regularly flown to Vanuatu.

Also out of Brisbane, Qantas will resume four times weekly flights to Manila in late October using an Airbus A330-200. Qantas returns to route after a ten-year absence, and the flights will compete with the Philippine Airlines Airbus A321 neo services.

Jetstar boosts Gold Coast – New Zealand connections

Everybody’s favourite (or not) low-cost carrier, Jetstar, is ramping up its flights out of the Gold Coast, starting flights to Hamilton and Dunedin in New Zealand from June 2025. Both sectors will operate three times per week and will result in another Airbus A320 calling the Goldie home.

Like a lot of new international flights out of Queensland, the state government is weighing in with support and the operator of Gold Coast Airport has also lent a hand.

The new and resuming flights are a broad mix running to a variety of destinations. This is a good thing, bringing the benefits of choice to a widespread audience and not being Sydney or Melbourne-centric.

There are reports that Australians aren’t pulling back on travel despite the rising costs of running a life. While that trend continues and people keep prioritising travel over other spending options, airlines will keep adding new routes, adding more aircraft, and providing more choice.