Qantas has announced it will launch a seasonal three-times-weekly nonstop service to Rome from June 22, 2022, using the Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The 787s are configured for just 236 seats and the flight will shave three hours off the normal route to Rome.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce also told The West Australian newspaper that the daily Perth-London non-stop route would resume in April after it was temporarily shifted to Darwin due to WA’s border closures.
“Prior to the pandemic, our Perth to London flights were exceptionally popular because they were the only flights offering a point-to-point connection between Australia and the UK,” Mr Joyce said.
“In a post-pandemic world, the option to fly direct is even more appealing and we are confident travelers will embrace the unique option to fly directly between Perth and the Italian capital and beyond.”
“Italy is the largest market for us in continental Europe for people visiting family and friends from Australia and we think customers will love flying direct to one of the world’s great cities to spend time with loved ones or enjoy Italy.
“After the restrictions of the past few years, it’s the ideal time to reinvigorate our international network and we’ll continue to look for new opportunities.”
The new service will operate till October 6.
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West Australia’s state Premier Mark McGowan told the West Australian that “direct flights connecting Perth with Rome will be a game-changer for WA’s economy as Western Australia safely re-engages with the world.”
“Many Western Australians have family links with Italy and it will now be easier to safely reunite after so long apart.
“The new route will also open up our tourism industry to vaccinated overseas visitors who will see Perth and WA as an appealing and safe destination with unique attractions that can’t be experienced anywhere else.”
Customers will be able to combine Qantas’ Rome flights with its double-daily direct flights between Australia and London, meaning they will be able to fly in and out of different cities on one return ticket through to October 2022.
The Rome service will also give customers another option for reaching onward destinations across the Mediterranean and southern Europe through Qantas’ network of partners.
The new route is expected to entice more visitors to Western Australia and Qantas will partner with Tourism Western Australia to boost inbound tourism from Europe into Perth and regional WA, as well as promote Perth as an ideal stopover for Australians traveling to Europe from the east coast.
Fares for the new Sydney-Perth-Rome flights go on sale today starting from $1785 return. Qantas will operate two Points Planes (bookable until 21 December 2021) for Frequent Flyers with every seat in every cabin available to book as a reward seat on the inaugural flight to Rome on 22 June and on the first flight departing Rome on 23 June.
Qantas will offer connections to 16 destinations in Europe including Athens, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Nice, Madrid, and Paris, and 15 destinations within Italy including Milan and Venice.
