Has Qantas underestimated BKK as a destination.

[JohnK]

I hate 10 abreast too. I refer to TG not EK.

Who cares about TG and EK. This thread is in the Qantas forum.

<redacted content>

 

[oz_mark]

Thats somewhat of a nonsensical statement at present considering they have the capacity to run extra flights.

So you're saying they could run these extra flights on an ongoing basis, rather than as one-offs that these appear to be?

 

[markis10]

So you're saying they could run these extra flights on an ongoing basis, rather than as one-offs that these appear to be?

If the demand is there, I am sure the aircraft can be found, given some foreward thinking, and access to extra aircraft, now who has some A330 stored???

 

[MrJetset]

I tried getting P1 to open up a J seat on this route (had confirmed J revenue ticket for myself) with no luck over a few dates. Via SIN was no problem although QF wants to put award tickets onto J* BKK-SIN, which means paying extra to get onto CX.

Must be profitable for QF if planes are always full !

Really? As a lowely WP I was able to get 2 J seats opened up for a classic award with a month's notice. We were initially going to book return in JQ's faux J class, but I just couldn't accept doing it overnight. Was able to get +/- 1 day of my requested dates via the Premium Desk. Paid the award assistance booking fee and had no requirement for cc verification.

I would have gladly have booked BA9 in F if possible. I'm not positioning to SIN just to fly back in F.

 

[ajw373]

Starting to make the lack of 777s... embarrassing!

THen again I really feel the interest and initiative has diminished re QFi

How would a 777 make much difference to passengers compared to the A330's that they have?

 

[ajw373]

Noted quite a few extra flights to BKK recently, it does make you wonder if Qantas has underestimated the popularity of the place, it will be interesting post EK if any extra capacity is put on.

Going by what has been written here it would seem as if Qantas has got BKK spot on. Flights full, extras during peak time. What do you guys want, Qantas running half empty planes so that you can always be guaranteed of a seat or an upgrade?

PS as for the extras do note what time of year it is. Hint holidays.

going from 2 daily 747's to a single 330 was an "interesting" one, which I never understood

Not really when you consider that a good proportion of the passengers on those 747's were just passing through. Standing at the baggage carousel gave a good indication of how many passengers made BKK as their destination. To me it was always about 1/4, which equates to around 100 passengers per plane or around 200 a day. So an A330 with 250-300 seats does make sense for BKK as a standalone destination.

 

[markis10]

Not really when you consider that a good proportion of the passengers on those 747's were just passing through. Standing at the baggage carousel gave a good indication of how many passengers made BKK as their destination. To me it was always about 1/4, which equates to around 100 passengers per plane or around 200 a day. So an A330 with 250-300 seats does make sense for BKK as a standalone destination.

Baggage Carousel observations are poor facts when presented, given they are missing HLO traffic which many business customers are. If we look at city pairs there is an average of at least two full planes per day, not to mention freight which is where the A330 is hardly a star:

[TABLE="width: 820"]
[TR]
[TD]Month[/TD]
[TD]AustralianPort[/TD]
[TD]ForeignPort[/TD]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]PaxIn[/TD]
[TD]FreightIn[/TD]
[TD]MailIn[/TD]
[TD]PaxOut[/TD]
[TD]FreightOut[/TD]
[TD]MailOut[/TD]
[TD]TotalPax[/TD]
[TD]Avg Pax per day[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Aug-11[/TD]
[TD]Sydney[/TD]
[TD]Bangkok[/TD]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD]24,139[/TD]
[TD]1,133.6[/TD]
[TD]105.5[/TD]
[TD]19,963[/TD]
[TD]456.0[/TD]
[TD]16.2[/TD]
[TD]44,102[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]735[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Aug-12[/TD]
[TD]Sydney[/TD]
[TD]Bangkok[/TD]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD]23,483[/TD]
[TD]765.2[/TD]
[TD]235.4[/TD]
[TD]21,960[/TD]
[TD]652.2[/TD]
[TD]17.3[/TD]
[TD]45,443[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]757[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Mattg]

Surely QF could put on a mixture of A330s/747s in order to increase capacity a little bit. Based on what I've heard I think that Qantas has certainly underestimated the popularity of BKK. And I agree that they could really put in a lot more effort to market in Thailand and get some traffic in the other direction. If they are worried about too much capacity then that's one way to fix that. QF is an international airline, they should be able to think of some more ways, too.

 

[Alanslegal]

This is my guess, I think its a short term capacity increase; its approaching Chinese New Year and alot of ex-AUS fares to SIN/HKG/PVG etc is getting quite expensive / or near capacity ...... so getting to BKK can be seen as a cheaper alternative xBKK to SIN/HKG/PVG etc. Also students returning to AUS for their semester 1 studies means flights can be filled on the way back.

 

[vitagen]

At least you have direct flights to BKK! West siders can only go to SIN or HKG

 

[Aussie_flyer]

At least you have direct flights to BKK! West siders can only go to SIN or HKG

Melbourne is no different nor is Brisbane. however all have direct flight's with TG. I don't bother with QF at all to bkk.... despite being quite loyal to them domestically

 

[Jmrocky]

I find 3-4-3 to be much more painful than 2-4-2, however several of the 777 operators do have 34 inches in economy.

Most 777 operators run 3-4-3 however, and after recently doing a 12hr 3-4-3 flight in Y on a 777, it is indeed one of the tightest long haul flights I've ever had to bear. The width of the aisle really did have me questioning human ergonomics and what is allowed by airlines.

Stepping into a QF A380 an hr later in Y felt like an upgrade to Y+

 

[dajop]

Most 777 operators run 3-4-3 however,

Most? In the context of this thread..... most carriers operating 777's between Australia and Asia operate 9 across in 777 cabin. EK and Scoot being the standout exceptions. Certainly CX, TG, MH, VN all do.

And if seat width is a primary concern, to BKK I find it interesting that on seatguru, QF is listed as having 17.2" width (for those flying SYD-BKK on the A330), whilst the poor MEL cousins only have direct JQ services within the QF group, with supposed 18" seat width on their A330

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Most? In the context of this thread..... most carriers operating 777's between Australia and Asia operate 9 across in 777 cabin. EK and Scoot being the standout exceptions. Certainly CX, TG, MH, VN all do.

And if seat width is a primary concern, to BKK I find it interesting that on seatguru, QF is listed as having 17.2" width (for those flying SYD-BKK on the A330), whilst the poor MEL cousins only have direct JQ services within the QF group, with supposed 18" seat width on their A330

Indeed, 9 abreast 777's is the norm and used on other airlines like JAL, Asiana, Royal Brunei, EVA, British Airways, United, Air Canada, Delta, Korean, Virgin Australia.

 

[dajop]

Indeed, 9 abreast 777's is the norm and used on other airlines like JAL, Asiana, Royal Brunei, EVA, British Airways, United, Air Canada, Delta, Korean, Virgin Australia.

And of course we've both missed SQ who also have 9 abreast - although relatively few 777 services these days to/from Australia.

 

[Jmrocky]

Most? In the context of this thread..... most carriers operating 777's between Australia and Asia operate 9 across in 777 cabin. EK and Scoot being the standout exceptions. Certainly CX, TG, MH, VN all do.

Fair, did get ahead of myself there. It was such a painful experience though I doubt I'll be ever able to step on a 777 again.

 

[ajw373]

Baggage Carousel observations are poor facts when presented, given they are missing HLO traffic which many business customers are. If we look at city pairs there is an average of at least two full planes per day, not to mention freight which is where the A330 is hardly a star:

[TABLE="width: 820"]
[TR]
[TD]Month[/TD]
[TD]AustralianPort[/TD]
[TD]ForeignPort[/TD]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]PaxIn[/TD]
[TD]FreightIn[/TD]
[TD]MailIn[/TD]
[TD]PaxOut[/TD]
[TD]FreightOut[/TD]
[TD]MailOut[/TD]
[TD]TotalPax[/TD]
[TD]Avg Pax per day[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Aug-11[/TD]
[TD]Sydney[/TD]
[TD]Bangkok[/TD]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD]24,139[/TD]
[TD]1,133.6[/TD]
[TD]105.5[/TD]
[TD]19,963[/TD]
[TD]456.0[/TD]
[TD]16.2[/TD]
[TD]44,102[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]735[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]Aug-12[/TD]
[TD]Sydney[/TD]
[TD]Bangkok[/TD]
[TD]Thailand[/TD]
[TD]23,483[/TD]
[TD]765.2[/TD]
[TD]235.4[/TD]
[TD]21,960[/TD]
[TD]652.2[/TD]
[TD]17.3[/TD]
[TD]45,443[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]757[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

In which case it proves my point. Every day there are two Thai and 1 Qantas flight meeting the demand, though yes some of the TG traffic will be going to places beyond Bangkok.

 

[Andyzx]

From SMH this morning. It appears that Thais are comming to Oz

For the year to November, almost 8.18 million Australians travelled overseas - an all-time high.
Chinese visitors rose by about 14 per cent in November, from the same month in 2011, while Malaysian and Thai tourists increased by 35 per cent and 27 per cent respectively. China is now Australia's second-largest source of foreign tourists.


Read more: Cheap airfares drive surge in foreign guests​

For Malaysia, maybe its a good thing that MU is joining oneworld and they might think about bring the A380 back to Oz

 

[dajop]

Fair, did get ahead of myself there. It was such a painful experience though I doubt I'll be ever able to step on a 777 again.

Look at seatguru for seat widths, example SQ claim 19.0" on their 777-300ER (9 abreast), which makes a difference over EK's 17.5" on the same plane (10 abreast). As a traveller, you can notice the difference. But even within 9 abreast layouts you can get narrower seats (eg TG claim is 17").

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Look at seatguru for seat widths, example SQ claim 19.0" on their 777-300ER (9 abreast), which makes a difference over EK's 17.5" on the same plane (10 abreast). As a traveller, you can notice the difference. But even within 9 abreast layouts you can get narrower seats (eg TG claim is 17").

I doubt that seatguru is correct about Tg seatwidth (and many other things ). Thai is a former operator of 10 abreast 777s many years ago but they switched to 9 due to customer complaints