QF announce non-stop Perth-London B787 Services

[alieninperth]

Sort of on a tangent to this, but I hadn't seen it elsewhere. According to the West Australian (https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/london-nonstop-from-2270-ng-b88456569z) there is a possible increase in destinations from PER. To Berlin, Rome and Paris.

They might actually sway me to taking the direct flight into Europe.

 

[mviy]

I think for the flagship route from MEL they should've got the A380 at least as a regular year round service to DXB, or moved to SIN or HKG (pick one destination) with codeshares from there onto LHR and other European destinations. That would've been a good compromise that still let passengers put it for point upgrades for part of the way to make the trip that little bit more bearable in the event of a successful upgrade.

My preference would probably be for MEL to HKG on A380 year round with codeshare on BA/CX from there to LHR. I guess QF's agreement with EK probably wouldn't let them do something like this though.

Even a QF flight on a 787 to DXB as an alternative to going via PER would've been something (though the lower number of seats and no F seats would likely mean less upgrades available).

Now from late March 2018 if you're MEL based and want to upgrade on points to fly to Europe you either have to go via PER and LHR or via SYD (SYD has a bus connecting domestic to international with long queues and no priority for premium passengers which demonstrates a very poor design choice) or change frequent flyer program to another carrier.

 

[Pushka]

So really exiting Dubai then. That's more interesting.

 

[moa999]

Re: QF PER LHR still not for sale

So is anyone else mad enough to consider doing the last A380 QF9 on the 23rd and first B787 on the 25th?

Or am I the only loony?

Better hurry. Heard AJ on SkyNews saying first flight was half sold out within 2 hours

 

[Himeno]

Isn't Melbourne also getting the 747 replaced with the 787-9 for LAX? Economy on any long haul flight stinks, it's never good.

They dropped the 747 MEL-LAX in Jan to use for MEL-HKG and have been running the 747 QF95/96 as demand requires.


QF09 MEL-PER 1520-1720
QF09 PER-LHR 1850-0510+1
QF10 LHR-PER 1330-1315+1
QF10 PER-MEL 1445-2010
QF95 MEL-LAX 2140-1900
QF96 LAX-MEL 2355-0925+2

As long as the 4th 789 arrives in Feb as expected, there shouldn't be a delay to the start date.

 

[Chalkie]

I am very unhappy about this. I pay to travel F. Now my QF F options out of Melbourne to LHR are EK (the bling irritates me, and the suite is not as comfortable as QF's) or go to Sydney (I detest the MEL-SYD international connection, and much prefer the intimacy of the MEL F lounge to the cavernous SYD F lounge). One thing I won't be doing is QF9/10. I hate the schedule. Way to go, QF.

Like others, this will severely test my loyalty to QF.

 

[Melburnian1]

Re: QF PER LHR still not for sale

...Heard AJ on SkyNews saying first flight was half sold out within 2 hours

The first flight will presumably have AJ plus other QF corporate staff on it, and all the sycophantic travel "journalists" and website proprietors filling almost all the J seats. Perhaps a small number might have to travel in an inferior class.

It has 50 per cent less seating capacity than the A388, so it's hardly hard to fill.

 

[Mattg]

Re: QF PER LHR still not for sale

The email sent out by Qantas this afternoon seems to hint that the 2x A380s being taken off MEL-DXB-LHR will be redeployed to SIN and HKG.

Personally I expect that as soon as the MEL-DXB-LHR flights stop, QF will start refurbishing the A380 fleet one at a time with new F and J seats. The other spare aircraft would likely be used to make SYD-HKG a daily A380 flight. I'm not so sure that QF would really put the A380 back on SIN flights (at least outside of peak periods), but that would be nice.

Once the entire fleet is refurbished and the full fleet of 12 A380s are back in service, I would expect them to be used on a new long-haul route (possibly to the USA). But time will tell.

 

[mono88]

QF will worry about 2050 in about 2035-40 when flying will probably be a little different.

CEO's of companies need greater shareholder value every quarter so they tend to focus on that, they are generally not concerned about where a management base is, unless looking for cost cuts & efficiency. They will look at longer term issues but not too far out.

Whether the QF changes will be successful time will tell, but they have committed somewhat to the 787 & need to get the best returns they can out of it.

 

[mviy]

Sort of on a tangent to this, but I hadn't seen it elsewhere. According to the West Australian (https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/london-nonstop-from-2270-ng-b88456569z) there is a possible increase in destinations from PER. To Berlin, Rome and Paris.

They might actually sway me to taking the direct flight into Europe.

I wonder if they could do e.g. Berlin or Rome or Paris to PER then onto MEL then onto LAX perhaps to do double daily 787 instead of A380 + 787. Though presumably that wouldn't satisfy demand.

Or perhaps fly the next lot of 787 to SYD and then onto LAX/another destination in the US or fly them from MEL to another destination in the US.

 

[Aus ATC]

I see Qantas are selling QF9/10 for domestic legs MEL-PER-MEL. Prices in Y are higher than the pure DOM flights. And no sign yet of a PE option (that I could see).

 

[Lemon_Party]

I wonder if they could do e.g. Berlin or Rome or Paris to PER then onto MEL then onto LAX perhaps to do double daily 787 instead of A380 + 787. Though presumably that wouldn't satisfy demand.

Or perhaps fly the next lot of 787 to SYD and then onto LAX/another destination in the US or fly them from MEL to another destination in the US.

How about a London, Paris, Berlin & Rome from Perth on the 787 and the a380 as the domestic feeder between MEL/SYD & PER

 

[JohnPhelan]

My preference would probably be for MEL to HKG on A380 year round with codeshare on BA/CX from there to LHR. I guess QF's agreement with EK probably wouldn't let them do something like this though.

I believe that's correct - the joint venture agreement would not allow that.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Too bad that once again Melbourne, which is increasingly an economic powerhouse to rival Sydney - and by 2050 if not before to have more residents than Sydney - has again been smacked in the teeth by QF's Sydney based management. Which city for expats has been named the most liveable worldwide for a number of consecutive years? It isn't Sydney!

Well, if QF was filling the A380 with premium pax, they wouldn't be axing the service. So MEL residents have smacked themselves in the teeth by being cheapskates. Alan Joyce made the point some time back that sales for premium tickets ex MEL are way below sales for premium tickets ex SYD (in proportional population terms).

Other airlines have also been cutting premium seats (especially F) from MEL routes. If the market is not there, it makes no sense to continue serving up lots of excess F seats. There's a reason why many people book MEL to LHR/LAX, rather than go ex SYD - because we know we have a much greater chance of getting a points upgrade to F from MEL, because the F seats won't have been sold as revenue tickets.

QFF members in MEL will still have the opportunity to fly to LHR one-stop on QF code, via PER on QF or DXB on EK. And if they want a points upgrade to F, then they can chance their luck by going via SYD (with the extra stop required).

 

[Oxy]

So really exiting Dubai then. That's more interesting.

I agree, cutting the DXB services in half is an interesting side note.

Perhaps they are planning to launch a MEL-DXB-somewhere_in_EU with future 787 frames?

 

[levelnine]

Well, if QF was filling the A380 with premium pax, they wouldn't be axing the service. So MEL residents have smacked themselves in the teeth by being cheapskates. Alan Joyce made the point some time back that sales for premium tickets ex MEL are way below sales for premium tickets ex SYD (in proportional population terms).

Yet EK has come straight in and upgauged its 777 to an A380. So clearly there are plenty of pax traveling out of MEL. It's just that QF can't seem to lure them in with its product and service.

 

[alieninperth]

How about a London, Paris, Berlin & Rome from Perth on the 787 and the a380 as the domestic feeder between MEL/SYD & PER

I wonder if they could do e.g. Berlin or Rome or Paris to PER then onto MEL then onto LAX perhaps to do double daily 787 instead of A380 + 787. Though presumably that wouldn't satisfy demand.

Or perhaps fly the next lot of 787 to SYD and then onto LAX/another destination in the US or fly them from MEL to another destination in the US.

How about this

LHR/BER/PAR/ROM - PER - BNE/SYD/MEL - ORD(BNE only)/DFW/LAX/SFO - LHR/BER/ROM/PAR

Total round the world on the roo.

some 5th, 6th, 7th or whateverth freedom flights approvals needed though.

Or this but I would think there is less demand. PER-LHR-HNL-PER

 

[JessicaTam]

Yet EK has come straight in and upgauged its 777 to an A380. So clearly there are plenty of pax traveling out of MEL. It's just that QF can't seem to lure them in with its product and service.

Don't forget pricing.

 

[levelnine]

Don't forget pricing.

Absolutely!

 

[mviy]

QF shot themselves in the foot with the EK partnership when it came to filling QF A380 services as some passengers won't accept going through DXB yet with growing Asian demand I reckon there'd be good demand for a service to LHR via HKG even if only the leg from MEL to HKG was on the A380.