Qantas axes Melbourne-Honolulu flights
Qantas took over the holiday getaway route from Jetstar, but neither airline plans a return.
By David Flynn, December 4 2025
Qantas is ending direct flights between Melbourne and Honolulu after just nine months, citing soft demand in both directions of the trans-Pacific route.
The last flight will be January 31, 2026; the airline had already put the route into a “seasonal suspension” for February and March, but “we have made the decision not to resume the service,” a Qantas spokesperson confirmed to Executive Traveller.
“Customers booked on Melbourne–Honolulu services from late February will be contacted and offered rebooking on our Sydney–Honolulu services or a full refund.”
Demand on Sydney-Honolulu remains strong, however, and will be boosted to six flights per week, going up to daily flights in April to absorb rebookings from the axed Melbourne service.
Jetstar isn’t coming back
A spokesperson for Jetstar, which dropped its own Melbourne-Honolulu flights so that Qantas could step in, tells Executive Traveller the airline has no plans to return to the route.
When those red-tailed flights took off in May 2025, the switch from Jetstar to Qantas arguably reflected the challenges of a soft AUD-USD exchange rate and broader cost-of-living pressures, making this route a better fit for the deeper-pocketed Qantas demographic.
“We are working in collaboration a lot more with Jetstar,” Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace told Executive Traveller.
“Which markets best suit Jetstar? What are the markets that best suit Qantas mainline, and what are markets that could have a dual-brand approach?”
“So there’s a lot more collaboration happening on those short and mid-haul international markets than has probably ever happened before.”
More east-west A330 flights
At the same time, Wallace and Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson both talk of aircraft as “assets” which have to be used where they make the most sense.
“We’re becoming more pragmatic about moving our capital because it’s a precious asset that we need to deploy,” Wallace told Executive Traveller on the sidelines of the FACTS travel conference in Sydney last month.
In the case of the Airbus A330 which has been flying thrice-weekly between Melbourne and Honolulu, Qantas says this will be redirected to other high-demand routes, among them domestic east-west services.
This move will also give Qantas an edge over rival Virgin when it comes to a better business class experience on the transcontinental trek.
As previously reported, Sydney-Honolulu now features an ex-Finnair A330 with that airline’s non-reclining AirLounge business class plus the option of premium economy.
13 Feb 2015
Total posts 75
Until Hawaiian hotel prices start to come back to a more reasonable level their inbound tourism industry will continue to suffer.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 May 2013
Total posts 402
Hawaii has lost it's appeal. It's incredibly expensive in not just Honolulu (which these days looks like a run down Gold Coast), but even more so on the other islands.
03 Aug 2020
Total posts 31
Sad to say but Hawaii now just doesn't represent good value. Regardless of what time of the year it is, hotel accommodation just send to be exhorbadent. Add to the mix a poor exchange rate and it ends up costing a fortune. A cup of very average coffee in Honolulu for 9 US dollars? No thanks
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Mar 2022
Total posts 17
Agree with the others, have been back to HNL a couple of times post-Covid, hotel base charges are already exorbitant and then include tax, resort fees and, of course, tips for absolutely everything.
It was once a fantastic family stop over location for a few days, but when any meal out seemingly leaves no change from $200AUD it's hard to justify.
I do wonder how much of the schedule changes also reflect HA entering OneWorld from around Easter time 2026.
25 Oct 2019
Total posts 10
Talking about redeploying to high demand routes, give us a back of the clock MEL-SIN service. The current two A332s withing 3 hours of each other do not cut the mustard. The loss of EK404/405 needs to be addressed.
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 224
Would be great to have more transcontinental 330 flights.
Etihad - Etihad Guest
04 Jun 2019
Total posts 6
The Hawaiian government clamped down on locals providing stays such as airbnb, this felt like a deal done with the hotels to me. Anyway, it’s too pricey too go there now because of accomodation costs.
29 Jan 2012
Total posts 221
The weak AU$ definitely is not helping, and the extra free's the US charges for everything, which have all been mentioned above, has been disastrous for the industry. For me though, Qantas to use the term "assets" to describe their A330's is a laugh - most are now over 20 yrs old and showing it. Reverse marketing all the way!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
12 May 2022
Total posts 31
HNL lost its appeal long ago, hotels prices are outrageous, taxes, tips, fees to hire chairs within the resorts, food, coffee, drinks etc. Most of the hotels are very dated now. There are far better and cheaper options if you want an incredible beach/island experience.
02 Jun 2017
Total posts 5
Why is it that Melbourne, with a similar population of 5 million, would have softer demand than Sydney on direct Qantas services to HNL?
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