Qantas began flying Boeing 747s between Sydney and Perth this week! The first Sydney-Perth 747 flight ran last Monday as QF581. But it’s only a temporary change; the 747s are currently scheduled to operate selected flights on this route until 5 September 2018.
Although the Boeing 747s on the Sydney-Perth route feature Premium Economy seating, Qantas is only selling Economy and Business Class. This is good news for eligible Qantas frequent flyers booked in Economy, as they can select a Premium Economy seat at no extra cost. Passengers seated in Premium Economy will still receive Economy service. But it’s a nice seat upgrade and vastly superior to the cramped Economy seating on the smaller Boeing 737s that often ply the Sydney-Perth route!
AFF member bussyboy has already flown on the new Sydney-Perth 747 service. Even as a Bronze member, they were successful in requesting a Premium Economy seat at the airport. This member didn’t end up sitting there though, as they subsequently upgraded to Business Class.
Got to the airport, asked at the counter and got moved to premium economy… thanks for the tip AFF! Mind you I’m just a bronze member, so while the word isn’t out there might be a fair bit of availability towards the front…
I then headed to Qantas club lounge, as I’d received an email offer for access which wasn’t working… they offered me a business upgrade instead for 25k points which i thought more than reasonable given I’d paid $189 for the discount economy ticket!
It costs 25,000 Qantas points to upgrade from Economy red-e-deal tickets to Business Class on Sydney-Perth flights. If you have a Flex ticket, the price is only 10,000 Qantas points – that is definitely worth it! If you don’t have enough Qantas points, requesting a Bid Now upgrade to Business Class is another possibility.
Alternatively, you can book an outright Business class seat for 36,000 Qantas points if there is award availability.
There had been some speculation that Qantas would use its oldest aircraft with angle-flat Business class seats for the Sydney-Perth 747 flights. But this has not been the case, and refurbished 747s have been used on the route so far.
bussyboy was happy with the Qantas 747 Business Class experience on the flight from Perth to Sydney.
I was happy with the business seats, I expected the aircraft to look dated but I thought the product was good quality, and more attentive service than when i last flew qf business about ten years ago. (Which was an ancient 737 without even personal entertainment!!)
Given there are so many more business seats, i recommend passengers looking for an easy or cheap upgrade to consider the 747 flights while they’re still running!
If you’re flying between Sydney and Perth between now and 5 September, keep an eye out for the Qantas Boeing 747 flights!
Qantas will also start flying Boeing 747s from Sydney to Honolulu from 20 August – and there is some Business and Premium Economy award availability to Hawaii!
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: QF network changes [744 PER/SYD & 330 PER/SIN]
