Courier Mail | 2 Dec 2022
Qantas’ inaugural flight from Brisbane to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport has taken off – marking the start of a new route that is set to generate millions of dollars for the River City’s economy.
More than 1700 seats across three flights will travel to Haneda Airport every week from Brisbane, replacing Qantas’ former service to Narita Airport in a move that will cut the commute time to Tokyo by an hour.
Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said about 46,400 seats would meanwhile land in Brisbane from Haneda every year, in what would be a boost for the city’s economy.
“Direct Qantas flights from Tokyo-Haneda will potentially generate $41m a year for Brisbane’s visitor economy and support 400 good Queensland jobs,” Mr Hinchliffe said.
Women dressed as geisha celebrate Qantas’ new service between Brisbane and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport
“Before the pandemic, Japan was one (of) Queensland tourism’s top five nations for overseas holiday arrivals and visitor spending.”
Qantas regional general manager for Asia John Simeone suggested the Haneda route – in contrast to the Narita operation – would be more appealing to the Japanese business market.
“The leisure segment will still use it,” he said.
“We’ve got some very strong leisure segment bookings.”
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