Your Guide to Flying the QantasLink Dash 8

When booking a Qantas flight to a regional destination like Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Devonport or Moranbah, there’s a good chance you’ll be flying on a Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. This is the workhorse of Qantas’ regional subsidiary, QantasLink.

QantasLink operates three versions of the Dash 8 – the 200, 300 and Q400 series. These turboprop (propellor) aircraft can take off and land on shorter runways than jets, and are well suited to serving towns across Australia. Over the coming years, Qantas will grow its Q400 fleet in order to gradually retire its smaller 200 and 300 series aircraft.

When you fly on a QantasLink Dash 8, you’ll still earn Qantas points and status credits like you would for any other Qantas flight. But your experience will be a bit different to flying on a larger jet aircraft.

This guide explains everything you need to know about the Qantas Dash 8 experience!

What it’s like on board QantasLink’s Dash 8s

All of QantasLink’s Dash 8 aircraft have the same 2-2 Economy Class seating layout, meaning there are no middle seats anywhere on the plane. There is no Business Class.

Each seat is around 17 inches wide, which is a tad narrow, but there is reasonable legroom with 30-31 inches of seat pitch.

Each seat comes with a tray table and a seat pocket, where you’ll find a copy of the Qantas Magazine. The seats do not generally recline.

The Qantas Magazine is the only in-flight entertainment you’ll find on a QantasLink Dash 8. There are no charging outlets or Wi-Fi on board, so you might want to bring your own entertainment. If you have some, you might also want to bring some noise-cancelling headphones as it can be a little bit loud inside the cabin during the flight.

Unlike on a jet aircraft, the wings on the Bombardier Dash 8 are attached to the top of the fuselage. The propeller engines somewhat obstruct the view if you’re sitting in the middle section of the cabin.

Each variant of the Dash 8 has one toilet at the front of the cabin.

Best seats on the QantasLink Dash 8

The best seat on the QantasLink Dash 8 depends on which variant you’re flying. You can find seat maps for each type on the Qantas website.

Best seats on the Dash 8 200 series

The QantasLink Dash 8-200 has just 36 seats across nine rows. The best seats are 1B, 1C, 1D or any seat in row 4 as these are exit row seats with more legroom.

Try to avoid 1A as this seat has a wall directly in front of the seat that restricts the legroom available.

Best seats on the Dash 8 300 series

The QantasLink De Havilland (Bombardier) DHC-8 Series 300, or Dash 8-300, has 50 Economy Class seats. The layout is slightly unusual because there are two rear-facing seats (1E/F) at the front of the plane. If you’re in 1C/D or 1E/F, you’ll be directly facing another passenger.

The best seats on this plane are 1A/B or any seat in row 10, as these are exit row seats with more legroom. If you want a good view, choose a window seat in row 12 as the view here is less obstructed by the engines.

Best seats on the Dash 8 Q400

The De Havilland DHC-8 400 Series, also known as the Dash 8 Q400, has 74 seats. The best ones are 1B and 2C/D as these are in the exit rows and have extra legroom.

How to select a seat on a QantasLink Dash 8 flight

Unlike on other Qantas flights, it’s not possible to select a specific seat on Dash 8 services until online check-in opens 24 hours before departure.

Before this time, you can nominate a window or aisle seat preference when managing your booking on the Qantas website. The airline will try to give you your preferred seat type, but this isn’t guaranteed.

Qantas will allocate you a seat when you check in. If you’re not happy with it, you can change to another available seat free of charge.

Why you can’t choose a seat in advance on QantasLink Dash 8 services

Due to the small size of these aircraft, Qantas needs to be able to spread passengers around the plane to ensure proper weight distribution of the aircraft. If everybody chose a seat at the front of the plane, the aircraft’s centre of gravity would be too far forward.

If a Dash 8 flight is not full, Qantas will usually only allocate two of the four seats in each row from rows 1-5 (excluding the exit rows). This is great for anyone allocated these seats because everyone gets a free neighbouring seat, or “shadow”. Of course, if the flight was full then all seats would be allocated. But QantasLink won’t know how full the flight will be until closer to departure – which is why it doesn’t offer advance seat selection.

Qantas generally allocates the seats closest to the front of the plane to passengers with status.

Premium Hand Luggage

The overhead lockers on the Dash 8 are not big enough to fit larger carry-on bags. Because of this, QantasLink offers a “Premium Hand Luggage” service on Dash 8 services.

The ground staff will usually tag larger carry-on baggage as “Premium Hand Luggage”. This doesn’t need to be checked in, but as it won’t fit in the lockers inside the plane, you’ll need to give it to the ground staff next to the door as you board the plane. They will store your luggage in the back of the plane. It will be delivered back to you at the foot of the aircraft stairs as you leave the plane.

QantasLink Dash 8 onboard service

QantasLink provides complimentary food and drinks on almost all flights, except for particularly short routes like Barcaldine-Longreach or Cloncurry-Mount Isa.

The service varies depending on the time of day and the length of the flight. But as there are no ovens on board the Dash 8, it’s usually a cold snack with drinks.

On morning flights, you might get a breakfast box with a choice of tea, coffee and cold drinks. On afternoon and evening flights, QantasLink generally offers a snack with a choice of cold drinks including beer and wine.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 80 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

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