Qantas ups domestic capacity with Alliance E190 deal
Qantas has announced it has come to an agreement with Brisbane-based Alliance Airlines to utilise three of its Embraer E190 aircraft, and cash in on an expected post-COVID surge in domestic tourism.
Under the new three-year deal, Alliance will operate three E190 regional aircraft, based in Darwin and Adelaide, on behalf of Qantas’ regional offshoot, QantasLink.
The agreement also includes the possibility of expanding Qantas’ access to Alliance aircraft by a further 11 E190 regional jets, dependent on market conditions.
Initial routes touted under the deal include Adelaide-Alice Springs, Darwin-Alice Springs, and Darwin-Adelaide.
The E190s will replace Qantas’ Boeing 737s currently tackling these routes, in a bid to increase frequency of flights.
According to Qantas, there is no set schedule for when the deal covering these new E190 routes will begin, although June 2021 has been tentatively earmarked.
Instead, the timing will “depend on the rate of recovery in travel demand”, as well as the overall recovery of Qantas’ domestic network.
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https://australianaviation.com.au/20...nce-e190-deal/