Qantas, Australia Post extend century-old freight partnership for 10 more years

Qantas and Australia Post have extended their century-old air freight partnership for another 10 years. The move is aimed at keeping pace with growing demand for next-day e-commerce delivery across Australia.

The extension coincides with Qantas operating its first commercial freight flight for Australia Post out of Western Sydney International Airport (WSI), also known as Nancy Bird Walton Airport, officially opening the airport’s new 24/7 cargo terminal. 

Australia Post parcels will be on board the inaugural service, flight QF7340, which is set to depart the airport at 22:25 local time tonight, the evening of July 27, bound for Brisbane.

Qantas Freight expects to move more than 160,000 parcels through the 24,000-square-meter facility within the first 24 hours alone, with 12 overnight arrivals starting at 22:00 local time.

A growing freight network

Domestic flights out of the new terminal will connect Western Sydney to Melbourne, Cairns, Adelaide, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Perth, along with onward connections to regional centers, processing more than 850 tons of freight each week. International flights are expected to begin early next year.

Qantas Freight plans to run a dedicated fleet of two A330 freighters and six A321 freighters at the new hub, with three more A321 freighters on the way, in addition to priority cargo space across more than 300 aircraft in the Qantas passenger fleet. The airline’s freight network already reaches more than 110 destinations both within Australia and internationally.

Under the new long-term agreement, Qantas Freight is expected to support delivery of more than 75 million tons of parcels and cargo each year across Australia and abroad, with that volume projected to keep growing as online shopping and next-day delivery expectations continue to rise.

A partnership dating back more than a century

The relationship between Qantas and Australia Post dates to November 1922, when Qantas carried 106 letters for the postal service on its first-ever commercial flight, from Charleville to Cloncurry in Queensland.

Qantas Chief Executive Officer of International and Freight Cam Wallace and Australia Post Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Paul Graham both attended the terminal’s opening.

Wallace said the growth of e-commerce has made Australians “increasingly reliant on airfreight,” adding that Qantas has spent recent years upgrading its fleet with “newer, larger and more efficient aircraft” to keep pace with Australia Post’s needs. He called the launch “a historic day for aviation in Australia,” one that positions the airline to “meet growing demand for next-day deliveries and move express cargo across Australia and the world,” and noted that the milestone “comes ahead of Jetstar first passenger services in October and Qantas to follow early next year.”

Graham said the century-long partnership has “worked together to connect communities across Australia,” and that the new agreement “ensures we can continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers for years to come.” He added that the partnership gives Australia Post “the capacity, flexibility and resilience to keep parcels and freight moving across Australia and around the world,” calling the new terminal “an important step for the future” of the network.

Western Sydney’s new gateway for global freight

Western Sydney International Chief Executive Officer Simon Hickey said the airport’s new Cargo Precinct is designed to “create opportunities for Greater Sydney’s businesses, workers and broader supply chains” by connecting the region to global markets. 

He noted that air freight underpins many of New South Wales’ (NSW) highest-value industries, and that the 24-hour facility is initially capable of moving about a quarter of a million tonnes of freight per year, a massive boost to Sydney’s overall air cargo capacity.

Hickey added that having Qantas Freight as one of the airport’s launch partners, with freighters already taking to the skies, should mean NSW consumers “enjoy more convenience and swifter delivery” of their online purchases.

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