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.

These turboprop (propellor) aircraft can take off and land on shorter runways than jets, and are well suited to serving towns across Australia.

Until recently, QantasLink operated three versions of the Dash 8: the 200, Q300 and Q400 series. But after QantasLink sold its Dash 8-200s to SmartLynx Australia (formerly Skytrans) and retired its Q300s, its Dash 8 fleet now consists exclusively of Q400s. The full name is the De Havilland DHC-8 400 Series, also known as the Dash 8 Q400.

To replace the smaller aircraft, QantasLink has also been growing its Q400 fleet with mid-life planes coming from WestJet in Canada.

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 8

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.

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 whether you’re flying on one of the Q400s originally delivered to QantasLink or an ex-WestJet plane.

You can tell which type you’ll be flying on once online check-in opens, as they have a different number of seats.

The original QantasLink Q400s have 74 seats (which go up to row 19). On the other hand, the ex-WestJet Q400s have 78 seats. You can also tell that your plane is an ex-WestJet version if row 20 exists and the aircraft has a registration with the number “84” in it (e.g. VH-84A).

You can find seat maps for each type on the Qantas website.

Best seats on QantasLink’s original Dash 8 Q400

The best seats on this version are 1B and 2C/D as these are in the exit rows and have extra legroom. However, there aren’t really any bad seats as even the seats up the back of the plane have 31 inches of pitch.

Best seats on an ex-WestJet Q400

On the ex-WestJet Q400, rows 1-3 have more legroom as WestJet originally sold these as premium seats. Rows 4-20 have only 30 inches of pitch, one less than on the standard QantasLink Q400.

Again, the best seats overall are 1B and 2C/D as these are exit row seats.

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)