Qantas Airways plans to start a service between Melbourne and London via Singapore on 18 January 2010.
The Oneworld carrier says it will launch the service with its fifth and sixth Airbus A380 aircraft.
It will start with one to two flights a week, before increasing the service to twice-weekly from 29 March 2010.
Qantas received its fifth A380 yesterday, and expects to get its sixth in early 2010.
"With the arrival of two new aircraft, growing our A380 fleet to six, we are pleased to be able to offer customers a second route option out of Melbourne - to London via Singapore," says Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.
The airline already operates non-stop flights between Melbourne and London 13 times a week on Boeing 747-400 aircraft. It also operates the A380 on the Melbourne-Los Angeles route.
With more A380s in its fleet, Qantas plans to increase the frequency of flights operated with the double-decker aircraft from 29 March 2010
It will operate on the Sydney-Los Angeles route daily, up from four a week, says Joyce.
Qantas will also operate three services a week between Melbourne and Los Angeles, instead of twice-weekly, he adds.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
