New A380 route and codeshare to Africa

Travellers made history on board Qantas’ inaugural Airbus A380 flight from Johannesburg to Sydney, the first time the national carrier has operated the Superjumbo from Africa.

The A380 will fly up to six times per week and will see a near-doubling of capacity, with an extra 130,000 seats between South Africa and Australia every year.

Qantas first touched down in South Africa in 1948 with a Lancastrian survey flight from Sydney via Perth, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Mauritius to Johannesburg. The first passenger services commenced along the same route in September 1952 using a Lockheed Constellation L-749A. The journey took 66 hours and became affectionately known as the Wallaby Route.