Qantas is putting Palau within easier reach, doubling its direct Brisbane–Koror service for the coming peak season as Australian demand keeps rising.

From December 2026 to the end of March 2027, the Palau Paradise Express will fly twice a week for the first time. Flights will leave Brisbane on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Return services from Koror will run on Thursdays and Sundays.

That extra midweek flight changes the holiday maths. Australians can leave Brisbane on Wednesday, spend four days among Palau’s reefs and lagoons, and be home on Sunday. It is a tidy answer for travellers who want a real Pacific escape without using a full week of annual leave.

Palau demand takes off

Qantas began its weekly service in December 2024. Since then, more than 15,400 passengers have flown the route. Traffic to Palau from Australia and Oceania is now four times its pre-COVID level.

The service is also bringing money into Palau. The Australian Government says the Palau Paradise Express added an estimated $10 million to Palau’s economy in 2025. It also helped lift total visitor spending by 26 per cent.

Qantas CEO International Cam Wallace said demand was behind the extra flight.

“Palau has been one of the standout destinations in our short-haul international network since 2024,” Wallace said.

He added that two weekly flights would give Australians “more choice about how long they spend in Palau”.

The route will use a Boeing 737-800. Flying time from Brisbane is about six hours. Qantas also offers links to Brisbane from across its Australian domestic network.

Four days in Pacific paradise

Then there is Palau itself.

The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Rock Islands Southern Lagoon covers 100,200 hectares. It includes 445 limestone islands, coral reefs and a remarkable group of marine lakes.

Frankly, the brochure writers can put their feet up; nature has already done most of the selling.

Palau Visitors Authority Director Kadoi Ruluked said Australian visits in the peak period had grown 107 per cent year on year since Qantas took over the service.

“This added seasonal frequency will build on that momentum by giving travellers the flexibility to enjoy a shorter Palau getaway for the first time,” Ruluked said.

The new flight also matters beyond the airport. More air access can mean more guests for hotels, tour firms and restaurants. It can also mean more income for local communities.

But Palau’s greatest asset is the natural world that draws people there. More tourism, therefore, must go hand in hand with care for its reefs, lagoons and culture. UNESCO itself notes the need to manage tourism carefully to protect the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon’s exceptional natural and cultural values.

For Qantas, the decision is sound network planning. Add seats where demand is strong and make the trip easier to book from around Australia.

For Palau, the gain is larger. Two flights a week turn a once-weekly adventure into a much more flexible short break.

Four days on the reef and home by Sunday? That timetable may be hard for many Australians to resist.

 

By: Christine Nguyen – © 2026.

Read Time: 2 minutes.

 

Author Bio:

Christine’s story is one of quiet courage, told without fuss and lived with remarkable grace. She arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Vietnam, carrying little more than hope, family, and a curiosity that refused to be extinguished. Sydney became home, built patiently, brick by careful brick.

She studied Tourism at TAFE and soon found her place in inbound travel, working with one of the city’s leading destination companies. Christine loved showing visitors the Australia that lives beyond postcards, warmer, truer, and far more interesting.

When the sea began to whisper, and life asked for a gentler rhythm, she listened. Designing brochures, writing blogs, she discovered storytelling waiting quietly inside her.

Today, at Global Travel Media, Christine writes with warmth and wisdom, reminding us, softly and persuasively, why travel still matters.

 

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