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Keen to try out Qantas’ brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner? You won’t have to wait much longer! The first aircraft has already rolled off the Boeing production line in Seattle, and Qantas will start flying its first aircraft on Australian domestic routes in November.
Qantas will operate return Boeing 787 flights from Melbourne to Sydney & Melbourne to Perth each day between 6 November and 14 December 2017. These flights will be used to familiarise the crew with the operations of the aircraft and to iron out any unforeseen problems before the Boeing 787s commence long-haul operations. Daily Melbourne-Los Angeles Dreamliner flights will commence on 15 December.
The flights are currently being sold on the Qantas website as Airbus A330 flights, however the seat maps reflect the Boeing 787 seat map. Qantas is not marketing the flights as being operated by the Dreamliner yet in case any last-minute operational changes are required.
Of course we know these schedules probably will change, or at least on the day slip. Still fun to see the plan!
According to Routes Online, the Boeing 787 will operate to the following schedules:
Melbourne – Perth
MEL departure: QF775 Day x67, QF769 Day 7
PER departure: QF772 Day x67, QF776 Day 7Melbourne – Sydney
MEL departure: QF442 Day 6, QF460 Day x67
SYD departure: QF439 Day 6, QF497 Day x67
Seats are available for sale on most of these flights in both Economy and Business class. There are also award seats available in both classes. An Economy seat between Sydney and Melbourne will cost you 8,000 Qantas points, and you can try out Qantas’ newest Business class seats for just 16,000 points.
The Boeing 787s will also be fitted with 28 Premium Economy seats, although Qantas will not sell Premium Economy fares on these familiarisation flights. It is likely that top-tier frequent flyers will be able to select these seats. There is also a chance that the Premium Economy seats will become available for selection by other Economy passengers in the days before departure.
It would be nice to see what the PE seats are like without having to fork out for one on a long haul flight. Even if I booked PE long haul I’d be hoping for an upgrade to J, but for a one hour flight I almost always fly Y.
A number of members are considering booking seats to try out the new aircraft.
I think I may have to book a Y and J flight, one in each direction that can be moved around without penalty. Just need to work out what would be possible for MEL-SYD run
Join the discussion HERE.
