The Qantas Group is expanding its use of Embraer regional jets on thinner international routes, with the announcement of a new flight from Darwin, Australia, to Singapore.
Qantas intends to begin the Darwin-Singapore route on Dec. 9, using Embraer E190s. The carrier last operated flights on this route in 2006.
This is the second international flight from Darwin that will be operated with the E190s. Qantas began flights from there to Dili, Timor-Leste, in 2002. Qantas also introduced E190 services on its trans-Tasman network in October 2023, with flights from Brisbane to Wellington.
The E190s are operated by Alliance Airlines under a wet-lease deal. Qantas said the “size, range and economics of the [E190s are] opening up routes that wouldn’t be viable with larger aircraft.”
Qantas established an E190 base at Darwin airport in 2022, with the aircraft operating mainly domestic routes.
The carrier said the Darwin-Singapore flights will connect well with its Singapore-London service. This will cut about 5 hr. in flying time for travelers from Darwin to London who would otherwise connect via other Australian cities.
Customers will also be able to connect to Jetstar Asia flights in Singapore, as well as to flights operated by other Qantas partners.
In addition to the international routes, the Qantas Group offers eight domestic nonstop routes from Darwin.
Qantas has also signaled it intends to use Airbus A220 aircraft on some short-haul international routes, with the size of the aircraft making it well suited to markets where a narrowbody or widebody jet would be too large.
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