Singapore Airlines to start Airbus A350 Melbourne flights this week

Throw the Thai A350s into the mix and Melbourne might be able to become Australia's A350 capital though depends on plans of CX and SQ.

Well that depends on which cabin you're travelling in.

A350 seats are wider and have ample leg room compared to the A330, plus with the latest Airbus product it would be a greater flying experience.

no...the A330s are just as tight as the new A350 at 18inches wide.  Their best seats are on A380s and 77Ws with 19inch width.

The general public couldn't care less if the plane is an A330 or A350. This is an expensive plane and in order to make it worthwhile they have to achieve maximum loads on it and so they will test the waters with a 7-week trial and if SQ finds it profitable then it will be permanent.

Are QR definitely adding the A350 to MEL? Their service and DOH/LHR lounges were fantastic, but the B777 business seating leaves a lot to be desired. However the A380 seats were top-notch and I understand the A350 ones are the same.

"They should fly A350 to Melbourne as other competing airlines such as QR, CX, TG are flying A350 to Melbourne, starting this year and into next year."

1st of all, assuming your claims are correct, how are they superior to SQ which is also starting 350 service for MEL this year?  2ndly, are you certain about 350 service for MEL by all carriers per your claim? 

TG:  Agree 350 is scheduled for MEL most likely from Sep(Same as SQ) as reported by ausbt.com.au dated 1Jun.  However, it may be delayed as 1st delivery to TG has not even occurred yet(let alone @ least a few wks of crew initial training+familiarization on short routes prior to any longer ones).  Worst of all, TG is notoriously inconsistent in deploying specific fleet type for a particular route.  Per typical TG style, it can swap out 359 fm MEL route with little to no prior notice.

CX:  No annoucement re 359 for MEL that I'm aware of.  What CX did stated was all 359s will be for AKL, Europe and E.Asia until 2017.  This website even reported "Australia is unlikely to see the fuel-efficient jetliner until 2017." on 1Jun, let alone MEL specifically.

QR: No announcement re 359 for MEL that I'm aware of.  Only ADL gets it currently and among all AU routes, QR has so far only mentioned PER as the nex possible 359 destination.

Ultimately, every 350 operator is suffering fm the delivery delay @ Airbus each with so few 359s to play with and the situation not expected to improve much until @ least 12mths fm now.

"Seven weeks trial of SQ A350 fleet is a good start then must continue on into Summer months onwards downunder."

Why?  Are you aware that some SQ routes outside AU are suitable only for 359 but not any other types in SQ fleet?  Other types are either too large to maintain daily(e.g. 380, 77W) or don't hv sufficient payload/range(e.g. 333) for some SQ routes.  In contrast, MEL is technically suitable for every type in SQ fleet.

"A350 is the way to go for Melbourne...for SQ to remain competitive and attractive in the Australiana sector."

Possibly but what exactly is wrong with the SQ product stds on 77W or 380 commonly deployed on MEL route?  They've largely the same J as the 350 and their Y is actually wider than those on 350.  Most importantly, does it mean SQ should prioritize 350 deployment for MEL and delay other SQ routes/mkts(e.g. SFO, JNB, AMS, DUS, etc.) that can ONLY be served effectively /technically(due to mkt size /range) by 350?  I doubt it.  Remember, almost all of the fuel burn advantage of a 350 over older gen types is realized during cruise....the longer the cruise, the larger the fuel burn savings to be earned.  Totally logical for SQ to prioritize 350 for 12hrs+ sectors over sub-8hrs sectors such as SIN-MEL.

Yes, not sure why Melbzone got so many down votes. 

Australia is basically the domestic market that SQ never had, so if SQ doesn't keep up with the hard product, discerning passengers will flock to the ME3.

Another instance of shortsightedness from SQ management, after they dithered on taking over VA. At the rate they are going, SIA will become another MH, TG

SQ is streets ahead of MH and TG. They may not have made all the best calls and they may lag slightly in some areas, but they are not catastrophically mismanaged like MH and TG.

But SQ also charges way more than MH, TG, or CX and QF and the ME3 for that matter. While I acknowledge their soft product, they need to buck up on the hard product.

Have you been on a new or refitted SQ 777-300ER? More or less same business class seat and down the back not much different either in terms of seat and amenity.

Also new A380's coming soon for SQ.

Don't get me wrong, the SQ A359 is a great plane (flown in it twice already), but bit harsh to say SQ's other aircraft are not competative because they are 'old', when the product is far from old.

"Why wait/hold onto flying A350 to Australia sector at later stage?"

Because believe it or not, SQ doesn't hv much chocie but to hold @ this stage.

1st of all, 359 is a very new type and typically for a new widebody type, initial delivery to any customers during Year1-2 will be slow even if everything goes by Airbus production plan.

2ndly, everything did not go by 359 production plan....in fact, it's seriously delayed(Search the infamous cabin/seat delivery delays due to supplier Zodiac).  The type 1st entered service 18mths ago and guess how many hv been delivered worldwide to all customers as of today? 27.  That's only 1.5 per mth on avg.....a sharp contrast against Boeing which delivered 787 x14 just for the mth of Jun16.  Only 9 hv been delivered to 3 Asian operators and SQ is really lucky to hv received 4(Poor CX got only 1).  359 delivery rate is improving but Airbus is not expecting more than 40 additional deliveries worldwide for 2016....SQ will receive 4 more @ best before 2017. 

Finally, contrary to popular belief of some folks here, SQ's 350 fleet is not exclusive to AU routes.  SQ intend the 359 to eventually cover its entire network fm super-short trunks such as SIN-KUL to new ULH intercon routes such as SFO-SIN(Scheduled to launch daily fm Oct16 meaning 2 frames taken fm the fleet just to support this Trans-Pcf rotation).  This means those few initial 359 frames must be rotated thru a vast array of SQ stations for initial crew training+familiarization both on the ground & in the air(Vast majority hv never worked on a real 350 in Rev$ service before) plus longer daily downtime to account for dispatch contingencies typical for new type in service.  I est before mid-2017, there's no way SQ will hv a 359 fleet large enough to schedule 1 continuously on any AU route.  There're simply too many SQ routes which are technically suitable or flyable(e.g. SFO-SIN) only by 359....no AU route is in that category.  SQ will simply hv too few 359s to play around with for the nex 12mths.

QR is able to deploy 359 regularly on AU route because it's lucky....it already has 9 airframes in the fleet.

Those SQ A330's are very much up to SQ's usual REGIONAL standard.

Beleive it or not SQ do have regional and long haul product and they fly what ever product they beleive the market can sustain.

SQ also has different versions of product, they don't always rush up and bring the fleet up to the latest standard everytime they get something new.

I believe the 2nd batch of regional A350s will only be 2 class...but that's not set in stone