Article: Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight

[Spizz]

Some potentially good news coming, if I can actually receive the OTP from the Qatar website via email to fill in the paperwork. Will keep you updated.

After a week of going back and forth with QA finally received the OTP and submitted my forms. Will update more when/if the money lands in my account.

 

[Hunter4vr]

Good to see a new plane with more capacity being put on the direct ADL-DOH service. Will hopefully alleviate some of the overselling on this route. Also SQ is adding a larger aircraft for the ADL-SIN service to-

Adelaide Airport soars to new heights with increased International flights inbound for SA

Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines will be increasing capacity with bigger planes flying in and out of Adelaide by the end of the month, the latest airlines to show their confidence in the SA market.

glamadelaide.com.au

Wasn’t Qatar flying the 777 throughout the Airbus dispute? The A350 only returned recently to the Adelaide route.

 

[jrfsp]

Wasn’t Qatar flying the 777 throughout the Airbus dispute? The A350 only returned recently to the Adelaide route.

It was flying the 777 when AKL was tagged onto ADL, but A350 when AKL returned to a non stop flight.

 

[MELso]

Half As Interesting's take:

 

[Spizz]

You may be entitled to compensation due to departing from an EU port. If you had accepted the downgrade you would have definitely been entitled to "75%" of the fare (generally pro rata based on distance) .

With a re-route that had you arrive more then three hours late, €600 would ordinarily be payable. The only issue here may be that you took the reroute voluntarily rather than accept the downgrade.

Thanks Serfty for the information. I can now state I received a refund from Qatar which landed in my account today for 600 Euro- $932 Aussie. Very happy I followed this through and thank you for the information you mentioned. Very, very happy with this is at nearly covers the taxes for these Award flights.

I would guess as you mentioned if it wasn't from Europe I would of received nothing. Thanks EU law

 

[justinbrett]

Half As Interesting's take:

Big fan of Wendover / HAI / Jet lag

That was a savage burn of Melbourne embedded in there

 

[Bwood9]

I finally did my DOH-MEL-ADL flight and got off in MEL despite being booked to ADL. I was hand luggage only and experienced no issues. Smart gates worked for both me, an Aus citizen, and my British spouse.

 

[RooFlyer]

I finally did my DOH-MEL-ADL flight and got off in MEL despite being booked to ADL. I was hand luggage only and experienced no issues. Smart gates worked for both me, an Aus citizen, and my British spouse.

Thanks for the report - very good to hear.

 

[rackxp]

I booked an awards flight with Virgin, Doha, to Brisbane with a stopover in Melbourne and Adelaide. Sadly, there were no options to go directly to BNE with no award seats on the 29th, and Virgin would not allow me to go from Melbourne to Brisbane.

I arrived at Doha and checked in through the dedicated business check-in. The process was pretty effortless, and i did ask the question if I could go direct but sadly no seats left on the BNE flight. Through security and then onwards to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge.

Al Mourjan Business Lounge - South
The lounge was pretty busy. The service was good, but they well and truly overcooked the beef. I had a shower and then a little nap before the flight. I would recommend the Garden Lounge, it is much more open and louder, but it has much nicer food, and better showers and the dedicated "quiet" rooms make it a much nicer lounge.

QR988
The flight was an hour delayed, but we eventually boarded. I was sitting in 2E. The staff were friendly and helpful. A welcome drink was served, and a dinner order was taken. I felt that the staff were looking for a simple service and wanted to get the meals out of the way after we reached cruising. Their recommendation was it would be better to eat first. I ordered the Tuna as an entrée. The tuna was lovely, Main was a beef tenderloin, and it was great. For dessert, the novelty of ice cream won the day. I watched a movie, then had the chair converted into the bed and tried to get a few hours of sleep.

I woke up ordered a coffee and some snacks, watched a few movies, and had the small sandwich platter as snack two hours before we landed in Melbourne. The crew onboard had no information about what we could do in Melbourne if any lounges would be open or where we could go.

We landed in Melbourne at 11.20 and the 8 of us that were inbound to Adelaide. I asked if there was a lounge that I could use and they advised the Qantas business lounge or the Marhaba lounge. Qantas directed me to the Marhaba lounge which closed at 12 am. It would make sense for Qtar to use the Qantas business lounge as they were open till much later due to later Qantas flights.

I tried to nap and gave up after an hour or two, had a coffee at Brunetti's did a few laps and then headed to the gate for the 4.35 open. Sat at the gate for 30 minutes before we boarded at 5.10 am.

The new crew were not as friendly as the previous, with no pillow, blanket, headphones or bottle of water. It's like the staff forgot to stage the seats again. Offered a welcome drink (I ordered a coffee) and was given a choice of a butter croissant with Salmon or a selection of Australian Cheese.

While still an enjoyable flight (minus the technical stopover). The staff on my outbound journey from Melbourne to Doha was much more attentive, and the crew from Doha to Milan as even better. Nothing was too hard for them to manage and every request was met with a smile and no problems Mr Rackxp. They knew who I was and made it a great experience.

I would rate the technical stopover as a really poor experience, Qtar really needs to either change flight times or come up with a better solution to treat business-class guests in Melbourne. Maybe a voucher for Brunetti's for food or some form of lounge area. Even if it was just a quiet area with softer lighting, it would be a better experience.

Overall Thoughts
As my first business class experience for overseas travel, the Q Suite is an amazing product. I really felt like I was in my own little world and it was very private. The food was great, seating was incredible and the staff make the difference from a great experience to a memorable experience.

Would I do this again? Absolulety was a pretty cheap way to travel to Europe with 275k in points and 800ish in taxes. It was well worth it. Just hope Qtar improve the technical stop over experince.

 

[jase05]

I booked an awards flight with Virgin, Doha, to Brisbane with a stopover in Melbourne and Adelaide. Sadly, there were no options to go directly to BNE with no award seats on the 29th, and Virgin would not allow me to go from Melbourne to Brisbane.

I arrived at Doha and checked in through the dedicated business check-in. The process was pretty effortless, and i did ask the question if I could go direct but sadly no seats left on the BNE flight. Through security and then onwards to the Al Mourjan Business Lounge.

Al Mourjan Business Lounge - South
The lounge was pretty busy. The service was good, but they well and truly overcooked the beef. I had a shower and then a little nap before the flight. I would recommend the Garden Lounge, it is much more open and louder, but it has much nicer food, and better showers and the dedicated "quiet" rooms make it a much nicer lounge.

QR988
The flight was an hour delayed, but we eventually boarded. I was sitting in 2E. The staff were friendly and helpful. A welcome drink was served, and a dinner order was taken. I felt that the staff were looking for a simple service and wanted to get the meals out of the way after we reached cruising. Their recommendation was it would be better to eat first. I ordered the Tuna as an entrée. The tuna was lovely, Main was a beef tenderloin, and it was great. For dessert, the novelty of ice cream won the day. I watched a movie, then had the chair converted into the bed and tried to get a few hours of sleep.

I woke up ordered a coffee and some snacks, watched a few movies, and had the small sandwich platter as snack two hours before we landed in Melbourne. The crew onboard had no information about what we could do in Melbourne if any lounges would be open or where we could go.

We landed in Melbourne at 11.20 and the 8 of us that were inbound to Adelaide. I asked if there was a lounge that I could use and they advised the Qantas business lounge or the Marhaba lounge. Qantas directed me to the Marhaba lounge which closed at 12 am. It would make sense for Qtar to use the Qantas business lounge as they were open till much later due to later Qantas flights.

I tried to nap and gave up after an hour or two, had a coffee at Brunetti's did a few laps and then headed to the gate for the 4.35 open. Sat at the gate for 30 minutes before we boarded at 5.10 am.

The new crew were not as friendly as the previous, with no pillow, blanket, headphones or bottle of water. It's like the staff forgot to stage the seats again. Offered a welcome drink (I ordered a coffee) and was given a choice of a butter croissant with Salmon or a selection of Australian Cheese.

While still an enjoyable flight (minus the technical stopover). The staff on my outbound journey from Melbourne to Doha was much more attentive, and the crew from Doha to Milan as even better. Nothing was too hard for them to manage and every request was met with a smile and no problems Mr Rackxp. They knew who I was and made it a great experience.

I would rate the technical stopover as a really poor experience, Qtar really needs to either change flight times or come up with a better solution to treat business-class guests in Melbourne. Maybe a voucher for Brunetti's for food or some form of lounge area. Even if it was just a quiet area with softer lighting, it would be a better experience.

Overall Thoughts
As my first business class experience for overseas travel, the Q Suite is an amazing product. I really felt like I was in my own little world and it was very private. The food was great, seating was incredible and the staff make the difference from a great experience to a memorable experience.

Would I do this again? Absolulety was a pretty cheap way to travel to Europe with 275k in points and 800ish in taxes. It was well worth it. Just hope Qtar improve the technical stop over experince.

I very much doubt they will change the process as it’s just a temporary solution until hopefully they are granted more slots into MEL.
With QR and QF having their spat I can only see relationships worsening between the two so I wouldn’t expect any changes on the lounge front

 

[Himeno]

I would rate the technical stopover as a really poor experience, Qtar really needs to either change flight times or come up with a better solution to treat business-class guests in Melbourne. Maybe a voucher for Brunetti's for food or some form of lounge area. Even if it was just a quiet area with softer lighting, it would be a better experience.

Why would QR spend money on the transit though MEL on the way to ADL for such a small amount of pax, normally less then half a dash8 worth, especially when not all of those pax would be in business?

They are only operating that route to get an extra flight to MEL and get around the weekly limit. They already have a non stop daily service to ADL, they don't need the second one.
They might get more through pax, and thus seek to improve the transit experience, if they operated the tag to another port which they don't already have a daily flight to, such as HBA or CBR.

 

[rackxp]

Why would QR spend money on the transit though MEL on the way to ADL for such a small amount of pax, normally less then half a dash8 worth, especially when not all of those pax would be in business?

They are only operating that route to get an extra flight to MEL and get around the weekly limit. They already have a non stop daily service to ADL, they don't need the second one.
They might get more through pax, and thus seek to improve the transit experience, if they operated the tag to another port which they don't already have a daily flight to, such as HBA or CBR.

Yes, this is the case. However, they are tarnishing their image with no real options for passengers in Melbourne, especially those upfront. There was 2 passengers who had flown from London who were told it was an hour stopover and there was a lounge they could sit it.

Appreciate it's short-term pain (could be long-term pain) unless the government changes things. Maybe HBA or CBR would be a better choice with no curfew.

 

[kookaburra75]

Why would QR spend money on the transit though MEL on the way to ADL for such a small amount of pax, normally less then half a dash8 worth, especially when not all of those pax would be in business?

They are only operating that route to get an extra flight to MEL and get around the weekly limit. They already have a non stop daily service to ADL, they don't need the second one.
They might get more through pax, and thus seek to improve the transit experience, if they operated the tag to another port which they don't already have a daily flight to, such as HBA or CBR.

It would certainly be good to see QR back at Canberra. They did the CBR-SYD-DOH before, and it seemed to have good loads looking at the number of passengers. A CBR-MEL-DOH trip hopefully would do just as well.

 

[burmans]

Yes, this is the case. However, they are tarnishing their image with no real options for passengers in Melbourne, especially those upfront. There was 2 passengers who had flown from London who were told it was an hour stopover and there was a lounge they could sit it.

Appreciate it's short-term pain (could be long-term pain) unless the government changes things. Maybe HBA or CBR would be a better choice with no curfew.

Well as noted elsewhere the onward flight to ADL isn’t actually attracting many passengers so probably not at the top of their must fix list. I think it’s likely their their energy is much more likely to be on finding a way to get more flights.

 

[CaptJCool]

It would certainly be good to see QR back at Canberra. They did the CBR-SYD-DOH before, and it seemed to have good loads looking at the number of passengers. A CBR-MEL-DOH trip hopefully would do just as well.

CBR is because of the public service pay rates and favourable holiday timing options

Household income | Australia | Community profile

profile.id.com.au

the median weekly earnings are by far and away the largest in OZ

Employee earnings, August 2023

Weekly earnings of employees, including distribution of earnings and hourly earnings, by State, Occupation, Industry and Qualifications

www.abs.gov.au

 

[kookaburra75]

CBR is because of the public service pay rates and favourable holiday timing options

Household income | Australia | Community profile

profile.id.com.au

the median weekly earnings are by far and away the largest in OZ

Employee earnings, August 2023

Weekly earnings of employees, including distribution of earnings and hourly earnings, by State, Occupation, Industry and Qualifications

www.abs.gov.au

Unfortunately that doesn't extend to a large number of people such as myself, who haven't been in the public service. And don't get me started on our Fly In/Fly Out workers who only show up for several weeks a year.

We do suffer from what is called locally the "Canberra Tax", where prices are pushed up as the local market is distorted by a large single employer who pays over the odds. If Parliament is sitting, you will see SYD-CBR one way on a Dash 8 for $800.

QR and SQ did use Canberra as a stopping point for routes, mainly I guess to get around restrictions at Sydney. Canberra has a large regional market to draw on, so it can make sense to have flights start or end here.

 

[Himeno]

QR and SQ did use Canberra as a stopping point for routes, mainly I guess to get around restrictions at Sydney. Canberra has a large regional market to draw on, so it can make sense to have flights start or end here.

Yep, SQ operated a triangle flight SIN-SYD-CBR-SIN, in order to get a late flight out of Sydney, avoid the earlier then wanted departure from SYD due to curfew and arrive in SIN at a reasonable time for onward connections and availability of services (with most shops/lounges closing overnight at the otherwise 24h SIN).

QR operated the SYD-CBR tag for the same reason they now do the MEL-ADL tag. To get an extra flight to SYD and get around the then 21 weekly limit to the major ports.