Saturday, July 19, 2025
In what bitter war’s end victims might see as a long overdue victory, Qantas will start daily direct Melbourne to Tokyo Narita flights from 16 December. That stretch of new highway isn’t just another flight corridor, it’s a bridge between two vibrant, culturally rich cities, and an indicator of booming demand for both tourism and international commerce.
For both Australians and Japanese, the line represents something that is even more precious: quicker access to visit family, business partners, dream holiday destinations, and to promote meaningful cross-cultural exchanges. Unleashing new possibilities for travellers on both sides of the meeting room table, whether it’s an Australian family discovering the temples of Kyoto and the buzz of Shibuya or a Japanese student starting the semester at university in Melbourne, our new service means they can do so with ease and comfort, as well as great fares.
A Strategic Expansion in Asia
A reconfigured Airbus A330-300 will operate on this route, which marks a significant step in Qantas’ strategy to build their presence in Asia. The aircraft, with a two-class configuration of 297 seats, is largely recognized as being best in class for the business market, but also delivering a level of premium comfort and technology to meet the needs of the leisure tourist.
Qantas’ CEO of International and Freight Gareth Evans acknowledged the strategic value of the development and the operator’s direct response to “a boom time for tourism and business travel.” “Qantas Group’s capacity to add services rapidly and efficiently while simultaneously pursuing a dual-brand strategy which includes Jetstar, enables the airline to tap into the rapidly growing demand between Australia and Japan,” says Evans.
The Melbourne-Tokyo (Narita) flights will complement their existing services from Sydney to Tokyo (Haneda) and Brisbane to Tokyo (Narita), establishing Qantas as the largest Australia-Japan network carrier. Jetstar will also continue flying to the Gold Coast, Cairns and Osaka, further growing the network from Japan.
Tourism Booming: The Numbers Say It All
In the 2015/16 financial year alone, the volume of Japanese visitors visiting Australia rose by 17%, spending more than AUD 1.5 billion in that year to beat the previous year’s 14% by AUD 3.5 billion. At the same time, the outgoing market from Australia to Japan skyrocketed by 24% due to a favourable exchange rate for Australians, Japan’s growing popularity as a winter destination and a significant cultural interest among younger generations Australians.
According to Tourism Australia, Japan is one of the top 10 inbound visitor markets for Australia and both countries have made a concerted effort to expand tourist numbers and cooperation through visa entry ease’s and bilateral agreements. The Australia-Japan Tourism Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was re-agreed in 2015 provides foundations for joint marketing efforts and the sharing of information between the two countries.
The Victorian Government has also been actively marketing the state to Asian travellers with the help of Visit Victoria. The new flight is expected to add tens of millions of dollars to Melbourne’s tourism economy each year. Non-stop services have always been recognised as an important tourism driver, particularly when international markets often spoil what would otherwise be spontaneous travel with long-haul flights and difficult connections.
Melbourne: Australia’s Cultural Capital
The Great Southern city is one of the world’s top cities for international travellers, offering a vibrant arts scene, a rich tapestry of multicultural dining, thrilling sports and cool shopping precincts. Victoria received more than 66,000 Japanese visitors in 2015, a number anticipated to increase with the new air link.
The Australian Open, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Formula 1 Grand Prix are already popular with Japanese tourists. Furthermore, Melbourne’s schools and universities still lure many Japanese students, numbering in the thousands annually.
With the daily reach of Tokyo and now Melbourne, there are more benefits than just trade and economics – there are cultural connections, a depth to families reunited and energy in business.
Japan Beckons Australian Travellers
With the buzz of such a scene-infused megacity atmosphere like Tokyo contrasting against the relative calm of Kyoto’s ancient temples, the appeal of Japan amongst us Aussies is undeniable. The country is now touted as a year-round destination — skiing in Hokkaido in winter, cherry blossom fairy tales in spring, hiking and cultural immersion in summer and fall.
Jetstar Japan’s extensive domestic network includes Sapporo/Fukuoka/Okinawa/Osaka so for both Australians exploring the north of Japan and Japanese travellers heading south, our direct Melbourne-Narita service offers a convenient connection across the network. As more Australians look to personalized, experience-based travel — whether it’s a culinary tour through Osaka or an anime pilgrimage in Akihabara — proximity counts.
NTO Australia is one of Japans highest yield inbound markets with long average length of stay (10 plus nights) and high visitor spend per trip.
Jetstar’s Role and Transition
Jetstar will (continue to) fly MEL-TYO with Qantas A332s (and vice versa); Jetstar A332s to be withdrawn from the service for part of the 1617 holiday peak. Jetstar will, however, stop flying the route after 25 February 2017 with its capacity subbed out to match Qantas’ upmarket product. Jetstar will also operate direct flights between Cairns and the Gold Coast to Tokyo and Cairns to Osaka, ensuring Queensland’s north maintains strong connections to Japan.
Jetstar customers who have already booked travel beyond February on the Melbourne-Tokyo service will be transferred on to the new Qantas operated services with minimal disruption and an improved travel experience.
This realignment enables the Qantas Group to allocate capital more effectively and supports the Group’s dual brand strategy of the Qantas and Jetstar brands – targeting the broader market of cost-conscious travellers and holiday makers at Jetstar and premium corporate, premium leisure and VFR segments at Qantas.
Economic and Cultural Significance
The open skies corridor would improve not only tourism, but trade, education, and investment between Australia and Japan. Japan is also one of Australia’s major trading partners and many Japanese companies are based in Melbourne. Easier travel enables executives, students and professionals to go back and forth between the two nations.
According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, more importantly Australia and India have an important strategic relationship based on mutual economic, defence and regional security interests. Proximity would seem to simply reinforce such relationships.
This route also dovetails with Japan’s industry-wide aims of drawing 40 million inbound tourists by 2020 (a target that was established before the Tokyo Olympics and then recalibrated for the years beyond). Australia is also still encouraging high spending, long-staying travellers as part of its national tourism strategy.
Conclusion: Crossing the Pacific
The experience will be so much more than a travel first for the passengers on the first-ever direct flight from Melbourne to Tokyo Narita on Dec. 16, 2016. It is a symbol of closer ties between two nations based on mutual interests, mutual respect and an unquenchable curiosity about each other’s way of life.
Whether the reason for their visit is a business meeting in Shinjuku, a honeymoon in Kyoto, a semester abroad in Melbourne or a family reunion on the Mornington Peninsula, this new direct connection swings the door open. And with Qantas at the controls, bringing comfort, efficiency and years of experience to your flight, the journey is as exceptional as your destination.
References:
Tourism Australia Japan Market Profile, Japan National Tourism Organization Inbound Trends, Australian Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Statistics.
Image Credit: Qantas
Tags: Australia Japan tourism, Brisbane, cairns, Gold Coast, japan, Melbourne, Melbourne Narita business travel, Melbourne to Tokyo flights, narita, Osaka, Qantas Japan route, sydney, Tokyo, Tokyo Narita direct flights, Victoria
