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Qantas given green light to boost services to Honiara despite Solomon Airlines’ objections
March 17th 2026
Qantas Airways’ application to add a fifth weekly nonstop flight to the Solomon Islands has been approved by Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC). Read More » The fifth flight between Brisbane and Honiara is due to start at the end of the month with two-class, 97-seat E190 regional jets operated by Alliance Airlines under a wet-lease arrangement. The IASC, which manages Australia’s traffic rights, said Qantas’s additional service was expected to increase consumer choice and may place downward pressure on airfares. Solomon Airlines had asked the IASC to reject the application, arguing it was a "cynical attempt to dump capacity on a struggling route in order to drive out competition" and force out the only other airline flying nonstop between Australia and the Solomon Islands. "While the commission acknowledges the concerns raised by Solomon Airlines regarding commercial impacts, the commission considers that these primarily relate to the effect of increased competition on Solomon Airlines’ own commercial operations, rather than any demonstrable detriment to Australian public benefit," the IASC said in its decision.
