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Qantas will open up a second destination in South Africa next year with the launch of seasonal services to Cape Town.
Building on its existing Johannesburg flights from Sydney and Perth, the Flying Kangaroo will fly three times per week on 787-9 Dreamliners between Sydney and Cape Town from 19 October 2027 until 24 March 2028.
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Enabled by Qantas’ new Dreamliners, which are slated to arrive starting next year, the flights will leave Sydney in the morning to arrive at Cape Town in the afternoon.
“Cape Town is a true bucket-list city and Australia’s appetite to visit has never been stronger,” said Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace.
“Each year, tens of thousands of customers use our existing Johannesburg services to connect to Cape Town through our partner airlines Airlink, so we know there’s strong demand for a non-stop service.
“The arrival of our new 787s as part of our historic fleet renewal gives us the flexibility to grow our international network in places we know our customers want to travel, while also creating new opportunities for our people.”
According to Qantas’ figures, South Africa is seeing solid passenger demand. The airline currently competes with South African Airways on Johannesburg-Perth only.
“More than 120,000 Australians visited South Africa in 2025, with demand continuing to grow. In June this year, Australia overtook Germany to become South Africa’s third-largest overseas source market, with arrivals up 19 per cent year on year,” the airline said.
“The route will also bring families and friends closer together, with almost 225,000 South African-born people calling Australia home and around a quarter of them residing in New South Wales.”
Announced in 2023, Qantas’ wide-body fleet order consists of four Boeing 787-9 and eight 787-10 aircraft, alongside 12 traditional A350-1000s.
“Both the 787 and A350 and the GE and Rolls Royce engines fitted to them are thoroughly proven and extremely capable,” said former CEO Alan Joyce at the time.
“These are generational decisions for this company. The aircraft will arrive over a decade or more, and they’ll be part of the fleet for 20 years. They’ll unlock new routes and better travel experiences for customers and new jobs and promotions for our people.”
Qantas unveiled the designs for the business cabins aboard its new Dreamliners earlier this year.
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