Australian low-cost airline Jetstar, a subsidiary of the Qantas Group, will discontinue its direct service between Sydney and Honolulu by the end of October. This follows the discontinuation of the Melbourne-Honolulu service on April 30, 2025.
This move by the company, which operates an extensive network of domestic and international flights in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, and other Asian countries, marks the end of Jetstar's only direct connection to the United States. The route was launched in 2006 and was most recently served several times a week with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners.
Last flight in October – Qantas expands its offering
The last flight from Sydney to Hawaii is scheduled for October 24, after the peak travel season in the Northern Hemisphere. This will give Australians and New Zealanders a chance to escape the winter temperatures and visit Hawaii's beaches. While Jetstar's service will be eliminated, competition from Hawaiian Airlines and Jetstar's parent company, Qantas, will remain.
Qantas will continue to operate a complementary route from Melbourne to Honolulu and will also increase its frequency from Sydney to Honolulu from five to six flights per week. Air New Zealand also offers indirect connections to Hawaii several times a week via Auckland International Airport.
New routes planned in Asia and domestically
Jetstar plans to use the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners previously used on the Honolulu route to expand connections to destinations in Asia. This indicates a strategic realignment of the company. Jetstar will launch several new routes this year, both domestic and international.
With its Airbus fleet, new services from Sydney to Hamilton, from the Gold Coast to Hamilton, and from Dunedin will launch before the end of the year. Two new routes have also already been launched, from Cairns to Christchurch and from the Sunshine Coast to Auckland. The Cairns to Christchurch route is the first direct service of its kind.
Qantas is also expanding its route network and will, for example, resume non-stop flights between Perth and Auckland and introduce a new connection from Perth to Johannesburg. Jetstar also plans to launch new direct flights from Perth to Manila and from Brisbane to Cebu starting in November with the delivery of new Airbus A321neo aircraft, thus offering non-stop flights to the Philippines for the first time.
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