BA launching LHR-MEL via KUL from January 2027 (BA33/BA34)

[justinbrett]

QFF’s might get some decent SC earn on it rather than the despicable offering they get on MH

Or just book MH on the QF code

 

[dajop]

A couple of years ago BA was looking at LHR-DOH-MEL. It would have taken some time to plan the KUL route, so they obviously went cold on the DOH connection

I wondered if it was that the LHR-KUL route was marginal but with continuing on to MEL you'll be able to have enough pax to profitably sustain the route between the three markets it will be in.

A few cynics in FT are suggesting it might only last 12 months. But they probably and fully tuned into the volume of Australia/Asia traffic, nor the premiums commanded in PE for Australia-Europe traffic.

 

[jase05]

Or just book MH on the QF code

Been a long time since I’ve had to worry about QF SC’s but I remember at the time that the Qf codes were always $1-2k more expensive and that was one of the key drivers in me leaving the Qf program and joining BAEC

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Although I personally struggle to see the benefits of flying BA 787-9 (both configuration) over MH's new a330-900s. Those are actually pretty nice at the front and back.

A lot of folk refuse to fly MH, no matter how good the product.

 

[Eastwick20]

It’s to rotate the aircraft through the system / utilization with the aircraft going through to LAX as it did previously.

Yes that makes sense... though I'm sure the optics of having London Heathrow on the Melbourne Airport departure board again was also a discussion point.

 

[kamchatsky]

A lot of folk refuse to fly MH, no matter how good the product.

That's my missus. She refused to catch MH even though there were plenty of MH awards available. She rather pays cash to fly other airlines. That also means I won't fly MH anytime soon.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Perhaps. But we do have an increasing Malaysian population in Melbourne which is higher than ever before. On top of the fact that more Malaysians are rising into the middle class and its seen as a serious business hub right now. (There's droves of Chinese and Japanese investment going into Malaysia right now).

KLIA itself is trying to improve its various services and we saw slides that they were trying to attract airlines back to KUL. It's not an unreasonable attempt to move some more into this market.

Although I personally struggle to see the benefits of flying BA 787-9 (both configuration) over MH's new a330-900s. Those are actually pretty nice at the front and back.

The BA version of the biz seat on 787 is vastly superior to the MH biz 330neo version for many reasons.

- The 787 cabin is wider, and thus the seat is larger in every aspect
- MH went full cost-cutting mode on their biz seats, to the point where everything on is smaller, ZERO storage for anything in the seat.
- BA's product is visually more appealing

I did both products to/from Syd cple weeks ago.
You'd have to really dislike BA for whatever reason to think MH is the better option.

BA biz KUL-MEL will earn into QFF as business class (60sc one-way), versus MH biz that earns as Flexible Economy into QFF (30sc one way).
What that ultimately means from a FF perspective is that so long as BA is around the same price as MH, you're better off with BA.

Also means MH will likely lose a bunch of QFF traffic.

MH is the airline you fly when everyone else is out of budget.

 

[jase05]

MH is the airline you fly when everyone else is out of budget.

Perhaps but out of ADL I preferred the old MH product over SQ’s and would willingly choose MH if price was similar.
Been a while since BA long haul so I’ll give them another go one day

 

[dajop]

BA biz KUL-MEL will earn into QFF as business class (60sc one-way), versus MH biz that earns as Flexible Economy into QFF (30sc one way).

That was corrected about 6 months ago, MH business now earns as Business on QFF (as of 1 September 2025).

What MH offer on KUL-MEL that BA won't is obviously connections and timetable diversity. It's hard to see them losing a whole lot of traffic, if you also assume BA are selling probably only 1/2-1/3 of a 787 on the sector?

 

[jase05]

That was corrected about 6 months ago, MH business now earns as Business on QFF (as of 1 September 2025).

MH Business Basic which is the cheapest still books into Z class which only earns Y flex SC’s.
Need to upgrade to the substantially more expensive Business Flex to earn higher.

 

[markis10]

MH Business Basic which is the cheapest still books into Z class which only earns Y flex SC’s.

You might want to check that data, two bookings, one ex ADL and 1 ex Syd both have business basic booking into D class

 

[madrooster]

You might want to check that data, two bookings, one ex ADL and 1 ex Syd both have business basic booking into D class

jase05 is correct. The lowest available is Z.

 

[markis10]

jase05 is correct. The lowest available is Z.

My point was business basic doesn’t always book into Z, and can be great value with full j sc’s, you don’t need to upgrade to get the beanies in a lot of cases

 

[oz_mark]

jase05 is correct. The lowest available is Z.

Z is the lowest, but D is also Business Basic.

 

[jase05]

My point was business basic doesn’t always book into Z, and can be great value with full j sc’s, you don’t need to upgrade to get the beanies in a lot of cases

Even though I’m not. QFF member anymore that’s handy to know. We’ve booked plenty of MH Business basic flights and I think most if not all have booked into Z. I’ll have to go back and check