Qantas will use Boeing 747s on several flights from Sydney to Brisbane during the busy September-October school holiday period.
Unfortunately, the jumbo jets are not a permanent addition to the Sydney-Brisbane route. There are currently only four flights with Boeing 747s scheduled. These will operate as international tag flights, with the aircraft continuing from Brisbane to/from Los Angeles.
QF55 from Sydney to Brisbane will run on Thursday 27 September and Thursday 4 October. The flight departs Sydney at 1.45pm and arrives in Brisbane at 3.20pm. (The plane then continues to Los Angles at 5.50pm.)
Meanwhile, QF56 from Brisbane to Sydney will run on the first two Mondays in October (1 and 8 October). The flight will leave Brisbane at 7.30am for a 9.10am arrival in Sydney.
As these flights depart from international terminals, eligible frequent flyers will have access to Qantas’ international lounges. This includes the acclaimed Qantas First Lounge in Sydney if you have Platinum or Platinum One Qantas status. Plus, the mid-afternoon departure of QF55 from Sydney allows plenty of time for a leisurely lunch!
Qantas has not operated international tag flights on the Brisbane-Sydney route since 2014. Qantas flight QF8 from Dallas to Sydney used to operate each day via Brisbane, however the stop in Brisbane was removed when the route changed from a Boeing 747 to an A380 service.
There are no award seats currently available on any of the Qantas 747 flights between Sydney and Brisbane, but there are plenty of tickets available for purchase.
Qantas recently began using Boeing 747s on the Sydney-Perth route due to 737 pilot shortages. Unlike on the Sydney-Perth flights, Premium Economy seats are not being given away to free this time to Economy passengers. But if you are flying in Economy on one of these tag flights between Sydney and Brisbane, you could request a points upgrade to Premium Economy. The cost is as little as 2,000 Qantas points with a Flex ticket or 5,000 points with a Red-e-deal fare.
