QANTAS: International flights unbookable through to March 2021

You can no longer book international flights on Qantas anytime before the end of March 2021. The exception is trans-Tasman routes to New Zealand. If you do a search, only partner airline international flights appear, for example, on Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Emirates.

Example

I chose a few random dates for flights between Sydney and London. The results are only showing points redemptions, and only for Economy and Premium Economy for the sample dates, I chose.

Not surprising

This is not really surprising. Qantas had already cancelled flights through until late October 2020, and Alan Joyce has been quoted as saying that international flights with Qantas were not expected to resume before mid-2021.

Making the flights un-bookable is stopping just short of cancelling the flights. That will be the next step.

Cancelling flights through until March 2021 will mean that Qantas will have suspended regular international flights for a year with the exception of freight and repatriation flights.

What this means

Qantas are not fools, and Alan Joyce is pretty good with figures and projections – remember he is a trained mathematician. I would take this as a very clear indication of what all the information Qantas has to hand is indicating about the immediate future of flying. Not a lot until at least April next year. Maybe even later.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.

I bumped into a friend yesterday who retired last year, intending to spend the first year of his retirement travelling within Australia and internationally. Talk about putting the kibosh on that! Now that the border between Queensland and New South Wales is open, he is threatening to become a grey nomad!

I won’t be planning on travelling overseas until this time (July) in 2021. The exception will be if the Australian government opens up a South Pacific, or trans-Tasman bubble, or introduces travel corridors to places like Japan or Thailand. And even if I am allowed to travel to those destinations. I’m not sure doing so will sit very comfortably within my anxiety levels.

Get ready for more Qantas international flight cancelations.