Aust to UK - best economy class airlines??

[simongr]

The only other airline that no-one else has mentioned is Etihad. Like Emirates, it is a 2 stop flight, once in Singapore, and once in Abu Dhabi. I think they have one of the largest AVOD touch screens in economy.

Is EK two stop always? My parents have flown direct DXB-SYD I think.

 

[dajop]

Is EK two stop always? My parents have flown direct DXB-SYD I think.

From SYD & MEL in addition to services via BKK(SYD) or SIN(MEL) EK fly non-stop to DXB. Etihad also fly non-stop SYD-Abu Dhabi (and will from MEL as well), although via SIN from BNE,

 

[garyjohn951]

I would not be basing a QF decision on the likelihood of getting an A380. With so few in the fleet the chance of an equipment swap is relatively high so you might aim for an A380 and get a 744. With SQ at least you will have a better chance of no equipment swap .

Simon, I agree with you. 2 weeks back I was looking at flights to London last week of FEB 2009 and it listed A380 flights out of Sydney, this week THEY ARE NO LONGER , all flights listed as 747.
Interesting, so a further delay..........................

 

[oz_mark]

Simon, I agree with you. 2 weeks back I was looking at flights to London last week of FEB 2009 and it listed A380 flights out of Sydney, this week THEY ARE NO LONGER , all flights listed as 747.
Interesting, so a further delay..........................

As far as I can see in the timetable the A380 is still operating QF31 SYD-LHR late Feb on some days. Seat Availiility seems to be an issue though.

 

[benhadi]

I don't know which port you'll be flying out of, but have yo uconsidered airasia X? They've got new A330s now, and i *think* you will be able to secure XL seats (i.e. their version of business class) for around the same price as economy on a full-service airline. Even if it's more expensive it'll probably be by just a few bucks.

Seat wise it'll still beat any economy class out there.

ANd they've done away with fuel surcharges, so you'll save a couple of hundred there.

I hear they've got IFE now...like Jetstar's. If money was an issue, and you're looking for best value-for-money, try considering it. They're planning to start flying KUL-STN sometime next year. And from Aussie they already fly from MEL, OOL and PER.

The one catch is there is NO certainty as to when they'll start the KUL-STN flights. Could be As early as Jan or as late as Dec.

 

[Keith009]

Simon, I agree with you. 2 weeks back I was looking at flights to London last week of FEB 2009 and it listed A380 flights out of Sydney, this week THEY ARE NO LONGER , all flights listed as 747.
Interesting, so a further delay..........................

Umm, please don't scare me again like that....:-|

Both my booking on the 16th of Jan, and my parents' booking on the 24th of Jan are still showing QF31 as an A380.

 

[hal55]

News conference scheduled for next week, apparently to formalize AirAsia's Stansted launch. A date of march9 has been mooted for some time now.

Hal55

 

[Starship]

As far as I can see in the timetable the A380 is still operating QF31 SYD-LHR late Feb on some days. Seat Availiility seems to be an issue though.

My understanding is that at present, Qantas are still scheduling the Monday QF93 MEL - LAX flight and the Friday QF11 SYD - LAX flight - and with the expected arrival of the second plane in December, the opposite (same day) 93 / 11 flights will be catered for by the A380.

QF31 needs to wait for delivery of the third A380 - allegedly this year - but is scheduled for flights from 16 January.

 

[Starship]

The only other airline that no-one else has mentioned is Etihad.

As noted by others, there are direct flights to Abu Dhabi - and with the renaming of the Telstra Dome in Melb to 'Etihad Stadium', there appears to be more emphasis on building this market. While I am a reasonably regular traveller to the GCC region, i have avoided Etihad due to 'cultural issues' they have had with a number of Western travellers. I expect the Australian management team at Etihad [shifted after cleaning up Gulf Air] are doing something about it but still a question].

While i like EK greatly, in fact my next trip is more likely to be SQ to SIN and Saudi Air to Riyadh. Disappointed Qatar has not been give slots here -as they are shaping up in a big way.

 

[serfty]

My understanding is that at present, Qantas are still scheduling the Monday QF93 MEL - LAX flight and the Friday QF11 SYD - LAX flight - and with the expected arrival of the second plane in December, the opposite (same day) 93 / 11 flights will be catered for by the A380.

QF31 needs to wait for delivery of the third A380 - allegedly this year - but is scheduled for flights from 16 January.

Delivery of the next two Qantas A388 are scheduled for Dec 12 and 27.

As for going into service, there's more here:

• Flying with Us - Qantas A380 - Qantas A380 Implementation Schedule

 

[Starship]

Delivery of the next two Qantas A388 are scheduled for Dec 12 and 27.

Qantas seems to be just scraping into the '3 deliveries this year', but then there is only a 4 day overrun buffer for this to happen. It may all depend on the 'paintshop' efficiency, and whether it is snowing in Hamburg.