Jake Nelson

The non-stop service commenced last Friday aboard the A320neo PK-BDF, and will be operated by A320 aircraft, arriving in Perth at 12:20am every night and returning to Jakarta at 1:50am.

The investment, funded from the Flying Kangaroo’s profits, is in addition to $150 million that has already been budgeted, and comes not long after new CEO Vanessa Hudson recorded a video apology to customers for the airline’s recent missteps.

Registered VH-8JS, the plane touched down at just after 10pm on Friday in Brisbane after a ferry flight from Singapore, where it had undergone repainting and heavy maintenance. The nine-year-old aircraft formerly operated for SilkAir as 9V-MGB.

Vanessa Hudson admitted in a video message that the Flying Kangaroo has not “delivered the way [it] should have”, and pledged to overhaul customer policies, make Qantas more passenger-friendly and rebuild Australians’ trust in the national carrier.

A Malaysia Airlines A330-300, 9M-MTL (similar aircraft pictured), overran runway 34 at Melbourne on 7 September, while a Bamboo Airways 787-9, VN-A819, overran it on 18 September. Each occurrence took place at night.

The airport will expand its Terminal 2 apron, build a new maintenance hangar for Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA), and develop a new aviation support precinct, at an estimated total cost of approximately $90 million.