Qantas Freight Gets First A321 Freighter as Qantas Adds Five Cathay Pacific Codeshares

October 19, 2026 — Qantas has two pieces of news today: Qantas Freight has received its first Airbus A321P2F freighter for Australia Post, and Qantas is putting its code on five more Cathay Pacific routes out of Hong Kong from next week.

First A321 freighter arrives

Qantas Freight, which flies a domestic freighter network for Australia Post, has taken its first of three Airbus A321P2F converted freighters. The other two are due by March 2027. The A321P2F replaces the BAe 146-300 and can carry up to 24,200 kg, compared with 10,300 kg for the older jet. Each flight can carry up to 20,000 Australia Post and StarTrack parcels.

Once all three are flying, they will add up to 20% capacity to the freighter network. They will serve all Qantas Freight domestic terminals, including the 24-hour freight terminal at Western Sydney International Airport, which opened in July 2026. Specific routes have not been published (TBA).

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Five new Cathay Pacific codeshare routes

From October 25, 2026, the start of the northern winter season, Qantas will sell these Cathay Pacific-operated flights under its own code:

What it means for non-revs

• Codeshare tickets do not change how staff travel works: if you are flying these routes on a pass or ZED fare, you are listing on Cathay Pacific under Cathay’s rules, not Qantas’s.
• Expect more Qantas-ticketed passengers connecting through Hong Kong to Adelaide, Brisbane, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Manila from October 25, which could tighten standby seats on those Cathay flights.
• The freighter news has no passenger-seat impact, but it is good news for Qantas Freight crews and ground staff as the network grows ahead of the Christmas peak.

Sources

• AeroTime — Qantas Freight and Australia Post welcome A321 freighter ahead of Christmas peak
• AeroRoutes — Qantas adds Cathay Pacific codeshare routes from 25 Oct 2026 (report dated October 19, 2026)