Qantas, Jetstar to launch Western Sydney Airport flights
First flights from Sydney’s new airport take off in October.
By David Flynn, June 9 2026
Qantas and Jetstar will connect the new $6 billion Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) to Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with first flights from Sunday October 25 – although it will be low-cost carrier Jetstar which takes the lead.
Jetstar will start with a double-daily service to Melbourne, four weekly flights to the Gold Coast and three to Brisbane on its workhorse A320 aircraft.
Qantas – or rather, QantasLink – won’t appear on the WSI departures board until March 28, 2027, with four services a week to both Melbourne and Brisbane on nimble Embraer E190 regional jets rather than the larger Boeing 737s which dominate its Sydney Airport flights.
It’s possible that the modern mid-sized Airbus A220 could follow, with Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson previously describing the A220 as “a perfect aircraft for Western Sydney.”
Qantas will launch WSI flights with its regional E190 jet.
The QantasLink E190s have between 94 and 97 seats, with up to ten seats in business class.
The Airbus A220 lifts that to 137 seats (10 in business and 127 in economy) – still around 25% fewer seats than the Sydney-based Boeing 737s.
All Jetstar and Qantas flights will go on sale at 10am on Wednesday June 10, with launch fares from $59 on Jetstar, $99 in Qantas economy and $299 for business class.
“We’re incredibly proud that Jetstar will be the first Australian airline to begin operations at Western Sydney International Airport and Qantas will follow early next year,” said Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson, calling the new flights a “major milestone for Australian aviation”.
“Jetstar has an incredible history of growing new markets, and being the first airline to launch will give one of the country’s fastest growing regions better access to low fares.”
Hudson said the Qantas and Jetstar flights would “make aviation more accessible for millions of people in Western Sydney who currently have to travel to Kingsford Smith to catch a flight.”
Speaking at a media event held at the airport on Wednesday, Hudson also dismissed concerns that Western Sydney International Airport would become a “budget option” for the Qantas group.
Qantas and Jetstar will both fly to Western Sydney International Airport.
“95% cent of Jetstar passengers are for leisure, and the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Melbourne are big leisure destinations, and for Qantas, we do provide a large portion of leisure, but the disproportionate share of Qantas customers is business purpose.”
“If you look at the seasonality of Qantas, December, January, February are the months when those business travellers are on holidays, and so March is the right month for us to really set these services up for success. I’m confident that from that point, as we see demand grow, we will grow that service to match.”
Hudson said the airline’s “investment in Western Sydney” would extend to other destinations such as Perth.
“Qantas is undertaking its biggest fleet renewal in our history, so we’ve got lots of flexibility to add additional aircraft, more frequency, bigger aircraft, and we expect demand will grow, and when we see that, we’ll put more frequency in.”
Qantas’ plans for a lounge at WSI have yet to be shared, although the most likely prospect would be a Qantas Club to welcome all loungeworthy travellers ahead of their Qantas or Jetstar flight, or access to an independent third-party lounge
You'd have to think that a Qantas Club lounge is also on the cards for WSI...
The announcement of Qantas and Jetstar flights from WSI will certainly be welcomed by the three million people who live within one hour’s travel of the airport.
“This makes us the third largest catchment area in Australia,” WSI chief executive Simon Hickey has previously told Executive Traveller.
“You’ve got Sydney, then Melbourne, and then Western Sydney,” which he also cites as “the third largest economy in Australia... and one of the fastest-growing populations in Australia, a younger population with lots of businesses, a really ambitious population who are great travellers.”
Residents of western Sydney could recover as much as two hours on a same-day trip to Melbourne or Brisbane, which means getting home in time for dinner with the family and to tuck the kids into bed.
The new WSI metro line won't open until 2028.
However, travellers will be forced to rely on cars or buses until the delayed Western Sydney Airport metro train line opens sometime in 2028.
Air New Zealand will launch the airport’s first international flights to Auckland on October 26, with Singapore Airlines taking off from November 23, while the path has been cleared for daily Emirates and Qatar Airways flights from the curfew-free airport to their respective hubs at Dubai and Doha.
Virgin Australia has yet to announce its plans for flights from WSI.
Also read: Emirates, Qatar cleared for Western Sydney airport takeoff
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2017
Total posts 360
Don't think VA has plans to fly from WSI for the short term foreseeable future.
VA's PR responses of "looking closely at new opportunities" when asked about WSI suggest they are taking a "wait and see" approach. QF's slow approach suggests VA are willing to concede the market to QF Group until it 'matures'.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 1098
My take is VA don't have enough planes even for a morning service and an afternoon service to and from Brisbane or the Gold Coast, I think people are undervaluing the travellers in Western Sydney also I'm hearing about a shuttle service is a good option between the 2 airports.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 411
Underwhelming is the word that comes to mind.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 1098
A double status credit offer would help the uplift of WSI at those $299.00 business seat costs.
03 Aug 2020
Total posts 31
I have a feeling that WSI is going to do very well
08 Feb 2018
Total posts 185
I think QF is really undercooking the opportunity here. Aside from the millions of people who live closer to WSI (timewise) than SYD who will jump at the ability to fly without contending with inner city traffic, crowded slow trains, and parking, there are timetabling opportunities QF is missing. For example, a late afternoon flight ex Perth arriving around midnight for those who want to get home after a day of work over west. Or a late evening departure for Singapore for those who need to get there in the morning. Maybe they'll ramp up fairly quickly but I think a small handful of Qantaslink flights is, well, not particularly exciting.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2014
Total posts 337
QantasLink E190 with no IFE, no Wi FI, fairly average service and no lounge at the airport, they would need to be offering some cheap business fares to get pax to buy those seats.
07 Mar 2022
Total posts 75
As someone who currently travels to Sydney Airport (Mascot) once or twice every week, I have a strong understanding of the needs and travel patterns of Western Sydney residents. In just the past three weeks alone, I have travelled to Hong Kong, Guangzhou (Canton), Christchurch, Brisbane, 3 times the Gold Coast twice, and Melbourne once.
The opening of Western Sydney International (WSI) has the potential to significantly increase my travel frequency. With the convenience of a local airport, I would seriously consider undertaking same-day return domestic trips up to three - four times per week, creating additional demand that simply isn’t practical when travelling via Mascot.
From a market perspective, Virgin Australia’s customer base aligns strongly with the demographics of Western Sydney. The region is one of Australia’s fastest-growing economic centres, with a large population of business owners, tradespeople, professionals, and frequent domestic travellers who value convenience, efficiency, and competitive pricing.
There is also a perception challenge that should not be overlooked. If Virgin Australia is not seen as fully embracing Western Sydney and its rapidly growing customer base, there is a risk of alienating a significant segment of future travellers. The long-term success of any airline depends on filling seats, and Western Sydney represents one of the largest opportunities for sustainable passenger growth in Australia.
WSI is not simply another airport; it is a gateway to a new and expanding aviation market that has the potential to drive substantial passenger volumes and but our company also has a travel policy not to use Jetstar.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2017
Total posts 360
"There is also a perception challenge that should not be overlooked. If Virgin Australia is not seen as fully embracing Western Sydney and its rapidly growing customer base, there is a risk of alienating a significant segment of future travellers. The long-term success of any airline depends on filling seats, and Western Sydney represents one of the largest opportunities for sustainable passenger growth in Australia."
To be fair, the same was said when Virgin avoided the question on WSI entirely, using PR lines to avoid any commitment to the airport. Virgin also doesn't have the spare fleet lying around to apply just 1 plane to WSI rotations.
With the initial schedule being quite underwhelming and even Qantas Link (Alliance Airlines) itself avoiding services entirely until NS27, Virgin Australia would be feeling quite vindicated by sitting out WSI for the first 6-12 months.
Now if the QantasLink services do well when they enter next year, and Virgin still continues to chose to remain away, then the same question may be asked then.
08 Feb 2018
Total posts 185
VA have 100 737’s compared to QF’s fleet of 79 so I’m not sure fleet availability is the problem.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Sep 2021
Total posts 36
Getting to and from WSI is a hassle and will be for many years to come.
Why the planned metro does not travel to Leppington to link with Sydney Trains, only a deceptive politician could answer.
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