Qantas' non-stop Perth-London Boeing 787 flights start March 24
By David Flynn, April 27 2017
- Qantas non-stop Perth-London Boeing 787 flights start March 24
- Daily QF9 service begins from Melbourne with domestic Dreamliner leg to Perth
- Qantas axes Melbourne-Dubai-London Airbus A380 flights
Qantas will begin daily non-stop flights between Perth and London on its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner from March 24, 2018, with tickets now on sale.
However, as exclusively tipped by Australian Business Traveller in December 2016, the airline will axe its Airbus A380 flights from Melbourne to London via Dubai in favour of the direct Dreamliner service between Perth and London.
The Perth-London flights, which go on sale today, will inherit the QF9 and QF10 numbers of the Melbourne-London superjumbo service and will also begin at Melbourne, offering travellers from the Victorian capital a Dreamliner all the way to London.
Introducing the new QF9: Melbourne-Perth-London
The Qantas Boeing 787 bearing the QF9 flight number will depart Melbourne's international terminal at 3.20pm to reach Perth at 5.20pm.
After a 90 minute layover – with most of that time spent at an all-new Qantas Perth International Lounge – the Dreamliner will set off for its non-stop run to London at 6.50pm, reaching Heathrow at 5.10am the following day.
The return journey on QF10 sees the Boeing 787 wheels-up from Heathrow at 1.30pm – affording travellers time to relax in the new Qantas London Lounge slated to open in the second half of this year – arriving into Perth at 1.15pm the next day.
At 2.45pm it continues onto Melbourne, touching down at 8.10pm.
But that's not the end of the run for this busy Boeing 787, which will then become Melbourne-Los Angeles flight QF95 – which is being re-timed to leave Melbourne at 10.40pm for a 5pm arrival into LAX.
Qantas has designed these additional cross-country and trans-Pacific legs to not only maximise the Boeing 787's flying time but also entice Perth residents with a one-stop Dreamliner route to Los Angeles to help fill the plane's seats on the domestic west-east trek.
Paying the 'non-stop' premium
However, travellers can expect to pay a premium for the direct Perth-London service over one-stop flights such as London via Dubai.
Qantas is pegging year-round return fares for QF9 as follows:
- Business class: starting from $9,890 Melbourne-London, and from $9,725 for Perth-London
- Premium economy: starting from $4,450 Melbourne-London, and from $4,250 for Perth-London
- Economy: starting from $2,270, "but are expected to drop below $2,000 during sale periods" the airline says
The 14,498km trek will take around 17 hours, which currently pegs it as the third-longest passenger flight in the world, and the world's longest Boeing 787 flight.
“We’re conscious that this is a long flight, but not much longer than our Sydney to Dallas service," says Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.
"It’s the kind of route that the Dreamliner was created for, because of its built-in features to reduce jetlag and improve the overall travel experience."
“We’ve added a very high level of comfort in each of the cabins and a lower seat count than most of our competitors. And we’re making tweaks to our in-flight service designed to help customers enjoy the journey more.”
Before setting out for London, business class travellers and other eligible passengers – including Qantas Platinum and Gold frequent flyers and their Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire equivalents, as well as Qantas Club members – will rest up in an all-new Qantas Perth International Lounge being built in a dedicated 'international wing' of the domestic Terminal 3 which will also include immigration, security and quarantine facilities.
Qantas says it will share more details "on the transit experience at Perth" next month.
A Dream(liner) run for lounge lizards?
With QF9 starting its journey out of Melbourne's international terminal, this will allow Platinum-grade frequent flyers to book the Boeing 787's Melbourne-Perth leg as a domestic flight – and enjoy the food, drink and spa of the Qantas first class lounge by grabbing even the cheapest economy ticket to Perth.
The timings work well for an east-west business trip, with QF9 out of Melbourne at 3.20pm and arriving into Perth at 5.20pm.
However, Qantas will want to keep open as many seats as possible for travellers who are going the whole way from Melbourne to London rather than doing a short hop for which it already offers a half-dozen domestic flights.
As a result, we expect Qantas will deliberately engineer the Melbourne-Perth pricing of QF9 to be far higher than its domestic equivalents in order to discourage transcon lounge lizards.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
05 May 2016
Total posts 619
5:10 am arrival in LHR! For holiday travel that's far from ideal timing. Much prefer the QF9 MEL-DXB-LHR arrival time.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 595
Yeah but a later arrival, same as existing QF9 would then mean the flight leaving PER at 1am. That is not good for holiday travel either!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2014
Total posts 142
Wonder who QF did a deal to swap slots with unless QF1 is going to be retimed
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 May 2015
Total posts 55
Qantas have a number of slots that are leased by BA..Maybe Qantas took some of the back....only time will tell!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2014
Total posts 142
I was thinking that when they retimed QF9 and received the afternoon arrival slot back from BA they maybe held onto the morning slot that QF9 used to have.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 May 2015
Total posts 55
I would love the QF 9 to be slightly eariler than the Emirates flight going to Dubai...that way you can beat the crowds to the showers then have your full pick of other European Destinations.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2013
Total posts 390
All we ask Qantas is that you improve the pitch for PE and add another dedicated toilets for Business.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Aug 2015
Total posts 36
Another piece in the jigsaw that matches the change to QF 95/96 timings ... just join the dots for the total round trip Lax/Mel/Per/Lhr and back. interesting use of aircraft I think.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2014
Total posts 465
The Y and PE fares are about the same as CX for late March. J on CX is $3000 less. I expect it is only J that QF can expect a premium for PER - LHR. CX is their only competitor offering PE over the whole journey, but that may change soon.
05 May 2016
Total posts 619
$9,725! I wonder how much MEL-PER-LHR return would cost? Even more? One can get QF9 on the A380 for over $2K less on a good sale.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1378
You can't compare sale prices to non-early prices.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Mar 2016
Total posts 167
Yeah it's comparable to non-sale fares in J. Not sure who books those fares!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2014
Total posts 465
Corp accounts, that then get large discounts to bring it back closer to the sale fares.
Qantas - QFF Platinum
20 Mar 2012
Total posts 211
Seems like the 787 MEL-PER would have to leave 2-3pm-ish to link up with the PER-LHR 6.50pm flight. On the return it would arrive at around 7pm-ish into MEL from PER which links up with the retimed QF95. Decent aircraft utilisation, well done QF.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 595
It leaves MEL at 15:20, so yup.
25 Jul 2011
Total posts 17
A pretty good option if you need to be in London for work on the day you arrive, and you don't have to mess around in Dubai (with the delays etc). I'd consider this as an option outbound (even from Sydney) but I would still return on QF2. The current Dubai - London sector on QF1 is too short to get a proper sleep in before a full day in London.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Feb 2017
Total posts 24
Geez, at that J class price I'm gonna need an extra red cordial before takeoff...
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1209
This pricing seems a bit of a try-on. You can do PER-LHR on SQ in Mar 2018 for $1530 in Y ( that's an 8 abreast A330 or 9 abreast 777). Over $2K for a 9 abreast 787 is daft!!!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Jun 2011
Total posts 88
11:37am... waiting waiting for qantas.com to be updated with the new flights
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 Feb 2016
Total posts 23
No more A380 out of Melbourne in the evening.... looks like the options are to travel via Perth, Syd on QF1 or another carrier.
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 113
Arrival time in London works well for business travellers...in fact replicates the old timing when Qantas routed via Singapore. Arrive 5.10am...beat traffic...freshen up...can be in meetings mid morning...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2014
Total posts 465
As the article suggests, Y fares for PER-MEL on QF9/10 are about double the cheapest fares currently on offer. PE is not offered on that sector.
PE is offered on PER-LAX, but on the PE sale fare the PER-MEL sector is in Y. Not competitive so far.
28 Dec 2016
Total posts 71
Sooooo this is essentially a downgauge for mel-lhr
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
11 Mar 2015
Total posts 191
ridiculous pricing-at nearly 10K you can get a first class ticket with other airlines so who in their twisted mind would pay such for a business class???
26 Aug 2012
Total posts 43
Bookings BNE-LHR routed via PER now also on booking site. Sadly, best connections use 738. Quotes 18.20 flight time for PER-LHR .... wayyyyyy tooooo long ... prefer CX - BNE-HKG-LHR.
Etihad - Etihad Guest
06 Apr 2012
Total posts 124
Yes. I notice that too when looking at the Qantas web site today. After March 24 the web site no longer offers QF8435 (the Emirates A380 code share to Dubai) and QF8434 (the return service) as a booking option. The only way to get to/from London from BNE as a Qantas passenger will be via PER, SYD or MEL. Oh man ! I hope this is just a bug with the booking system.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 Sep 2011
Total posts 77
I understand that the cabin crew on the international leg (ie. to/from London) will NOT be Aussies but London-based crew
10 Aug 2015
Total posts 113
Being an Australian and being based in London are not mutually exclusive.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jan 2017
Total posts 23
No, it's not mutually exclusive, but from my experience most QF London-based staff in the pointy end are Brits.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 595
I am still perplexed by the change from MEL to LHR from A380 to 787.
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1425
AJW the capacity has halved as QF is struggling in an overcrowded market as AJ said. For me from Canberra I always prefer the Melb LHR Flight as it is easiest to get upgrades etc on it, which means it is not a big earner. Dropping capacity by half on that route makes sense. The A380s need their D checks plus a refresh (which will take a couple of years to do the lot) and a focus on Asia makes sense for the A380s. If LHR demand picks up they can go double daily but the next four 789s may focus on continental Europe (eg Paris). They will see how demand to the US pans out with Trump before adding more on that front. The last six 747s are around until 2022 so plenty of time to work things out.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Oct 2016
Total posts 66
It's currently showing at £4231 (Approx' $7,300AUD) to fly Business Saver LHW - PER return for those interested.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Jun 2011
Total posts 88
QF website has no J class flights (or availability) for PER-LHR for 24th, but they do for 25th...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Jun 2011
Total posts 88
Just spoke to QF. 24 March 2018 is already oversold in J and W with 2 seats left in Y. I missed out :(
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Feb 2017
Total posts 24
So who's getting dragged out down the aisle????
08 Oct 2011
Total posts 50
LOL...and earn a few million bucks in law suit...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Jul 2011
Total posts 186
Email for QF today touting "book now" do a dummy booking from Adelaide for May 2018, I get ADL-MEL, MEL-LHR via DBX on QF9 in a A380: no mention of PER
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Jul 2011
Total posts 186
my mistake, wrong year.... duh.
05 May 2016
Total posts 619
Yeah, May seats for next year are not being sold yet.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 974
I'm sure Qantas will be giving heavy discounted fare after the first 12 months, the pain of sitting on a plane for that long deserves a bigger discount then flying via another country. My wife would shoot me 5 times over if I put her on a plane for that long.
13 May 2016
Total posts 13
Dumb question... but Is this flight daily?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Mar 2013
Total posts 132
Wonder what time the MEL lounge will close at now...
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
23 May 2013
Total posts 44
They still have the overnight flight to AKL that leaves around 2300 so will have to remain open late for that.
26 Aug 2012
Total posts 43
Just checked. BNE-LHR J class via PER = 51k points and 480 sc. OOL departure = 66k points and 640 sc. Over 30% difference. They are funneling everyone via PER and cut 380 from MEL. It's all very weird really. They would need 2 x 787's from PER. And the 738 connections suck for the big $10k + fare. Not for me. Back to SIN or HKG to Europe. Not impressed at all.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2013
Total posts 702
Yeh I see where you're coming from. The closest connection I could see (on the day I searched) left a four hour stop between the BNE-PER and PER-LHR flights and to top if off the flight BNE-PER was an B737.
16 Feb 2017
Total posts 28
Not a great day for Melbourne travellers. Losing an A380 service - and instead we get Jetstar like 9 abreast seating in a 787 :(
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Jun 2016
Total posts 5
The Australian is already reporting that the first flight is completely sold out!
05 May 2016
Total posts 619
Considering a number of seats would be reserved for the media, QF management and perhaps others as well such as some important customers that's not surprising.
The big test is
a) convincing people to fly the route from e.g. MEL
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 461
It sold out in 2 hours, apparently!
10 Feb 2012
Total posts 10
Will still do QF/EK on the A380 from Sydney, then doing the 787 via Perth. Why?? Space/Room to Move, Bar, wifi, More Toilets, First Class Lounge, Service, Limousine, 560 Status Credits (instead of 480 via Perth). Alternatively Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Qatar as well.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Apr 2017
Total posts 3
I noticed that SYD- PER-LHR gives a lot less status credits (515) than SYD-LHR return (560)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Jul 2014
Total posts 22
"We've added a very high level of comfort in each of the cabins ..." says Alan Joyce. But toilet ratio in Business (sharing with PE) is a significant reduction in comfort, along with PE seat pitch. I've done QF9/10 a number of times over the years in J but not any more. Plenty of alternatives with greater comfort and better price,
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1425
Rusty the A380 shares business with PE toilets (I know I do it regularly) and the ratio is much the same when business and PE are added together.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2013
Total posts 57
More confirmation that Qantas is indeed "Sydney Airlines" rather than the national carrier. Despite the Boeing hype often repeated here, A380 is a vastly more comfortable aircraft for long distance travel.
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 113
One think that really hasn't been promoted is Perth - LAX part of this route...this plane will get a lot of patronage as it's (correct if wrong) the same 787-9 all the way with 1.5hrs in Melbourne? No more Sydney transits for Perth travellers and international to international transfer in Melbourne...Qantas should sell this!
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1425
Having just come to the US on a United 789 over 14 hours. The experience is much the same as a A380 in terms of smooth ride noise etc. In economy it is cramped but not much more than a A380. UNITED's rather more than average service is very easy to beat by QF. It is not a game changer plane as it is rather tiny compared to what I am used to, but 17 hours is doable.
21 Aug 2015
Total posts 86
So Ho Hum..........too little too late......and far too expensive........much better options through Asia with much better carriers......QF can carry on about this but I wouldn't even consider it.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Aug 2014
Total posts 503
I can deal with everything else but lower SCs flying MEL-PER-LHR especially when it's a lot more expensive and far brutal just seems absurd. At least give more SCs for what you're paying and enduring.
28 Nov 2012
Total posts 93
Can we expect when more 787 come into the fleet to see Melbourne to Perth to Paris/Frankfurt given the Dubai connections will be no longer??
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1425
Johny, AJ mentioned Berlin rather than Frankfurt which is interesting. I think he plans to go to the new Brandeburg airport assuming it opens next year or early 2019. I think the next four 789s will cover Brisbane to LA and New York, and Paris. Berlin would come later I think, but is clearly in the mix. QF may get a good discount on landing fees to attract it there rather than Paris. There will be some juggling to keep the 789s based in Melbourne, but maybe double daily to LA and then onto New York for one of them. The freed up A380 could then do the Brisbane to LA run assuming the current 747 had good loads.
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1425
Johny it seems Brisbane to Los Angeles - Brisbane - Perth - Paris may be next with the next four 789s being based in Brisbane from the second half of next year. Would New York be in the mix? This would mean tickets on sales from October or so.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer - Chairmans Lounge
01 Sep 2011
Total posts 413
very sorry that the A380 is being dropped MEL-LHR.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Jul 2014
Total posts 22
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Oct 2016
Total posts 7
Is 3:20pm meant to be 4:20pm? Given the two hour time difference, and three during DST?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jul 2014
Total posts 113
I wonder if they will re-time the QF1/2 to suit? If the 789 from MEL/PER is arriving early morning and departing early morning, would it make business sense to change the 380 to an afternoon arrival and evening departure.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Sep 2014
Total posts 7
They have to retime QF1/2. Currently qf1 a380 becomes qf10 (aircraft stays 6hrs in LHR). Most likely qf1 will be retimed for evening departure to minimise aircraft parking fees in LHR.
19 May 2016
Total posts 15
Does anyone know when QF will offer PER-LHR or LHR-PER legs as a classic award, and what the pts cost will be? Maybe they already are but are getting snapped up quickly...
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