Domestic aircraft allocation (Qantas)

Status
Not open for further replies.

nutwood

Established Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2015
Posts
1,466
Qantas
Platinum 1
Virgin
Platinum
I'm sure this question has been asked before but my searching hasn't given me an answer.
If I'm flying domestic with Qantas, what's the best way for me to know in advance, what aircraft I'll be sitting in?
Technically, my ticket tells me, but the theory does not always match the reality. I've had my ticket telling me 737 but I board an Airbus.
 
Late allocation swaps will always occur, but your seatmap is a good indicator of what you may be sitting in.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for that. I must confess that in the past, I haven't taken a lot of notice as to the plane specified on the ticket. All my domestic flying seems to be either a Dash 8 or a 737 but recently I've found myself on an A330 on a couple of occasions between Sydney and Melbourne when I was expecting a 737.
 
Rely on the 737 but hope for the airbus 330 is my motto with both QF and VA.
Both have more 737s flying than airbuses, and if you have a look at the weekend schedule, trans Aust, its more so the 737 that will do your flight.
I don't have high hopes, one time, I booked to sit in QF J from MEL - SYD, they swapped my planned plane from the airbus 330 to 737 at least 3 times, and 3 times, I had to sit and wait at least 45 mins to get changed timetable so I could try the airbus 330 J.
They can change a plane overnight, so even if you checked in OLCI with showing an airbus 330, you could get to the airport and get a 737!
The last 767 flight, I was booked in Y, first flight at 6am SYD - MEL, (before it was retired), I had done OLCI and had a BP on the ipod, was staying at the ibis Budget SYDd airport, got to T3, was at the right gate and saw to my utter dismay, a lowly 737 sitting at the gate my 767 was to depart from.
Had asked what would happen on here if it happened, and it did happen.
Members on here said to ask at the QP for a change in time of departure of flight, asked in QP, and the lounge goddess swapped me to the 7.30am flight, which was a 767.
The time I met JessicamTam, a mod on here, also QF changed that 767 last flight to 737.

Unless QF brings more airbus 330s in operation, or put more boeing 787s onto domestic operations, the 737 will take precedence.
 
Unless QF brings more airbus 330s in operation, or put more boeing 787s onto domestic operations, the 737 will take precedence.
The first 787 arrives Oct 12. The QF95/96 doesn't start until Dec 15, after the 2nd arrives on Dec 1.
The 3rd arrives Dec 31, and the 4th arrives Feb 22 ahead of the PER-LHR starting on March 25.
So between mid Oct and late March, there will be 1 or 2 787s available for domestic flying.
 
I suspect the first aircraft will have 2-3 wks of non-passenger trials. Checking gates etc and familiarising a few more crew and pilots. Then onto East-West services (most likely MEL-PER returns as this will be part of its first route) to get pilot and crew hours up

(I note on the A380, NBW arrived in Aus on 21 Sep 2008, and operated first service on 20 Oct 2008. Guess it wasn't really possible to do domestic tests given it's size and I suspect only SYD and MEL were A380 capable in 2008.)
 
I suspect the first aircraft will have 2-3 wks of non-passenger trials. Checking gates etc and familiarising a few more crew and pilots. Then onto East-West services (most likely MEL-PER returns as this will be part of its first route) to get pilot and crew hours up

(I note on the A380, NBW arrived in Aus on 21 Sep 2008, and operated first service on 20 Oct 2008. Guess it wasn't really possible to do domestic tests given it's size and I suspect only SYD and MEL were A380 capable in 2008.)

I suspect the first one also gets involved with certification testing with the authorities, and getting the aircraft onto its AOC....
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

You will find that aircraft subs most usually happen on the trunk SYD-MEL (and v.v.) route and sometimes to/from PER (a dreaded downgrade to a 737).

Most other routes, specially to/from smaller destinations will stick to the aircraft type scheduled.

So why have a sub?

several reasons:
- a higher/lower passenger load for the flight in question
- a mechanical on one or other aircraft
- cancellations (possibly due to reason 1 - eg consolodating several SYD-MEL into a 330)

many of these changes happen within 24 hours of departure, sometimes only an hour or so prior.

That's life. Your ticket doesn't guarantee what specific aircraft type you'll get to get you there.

Incidently most folks consider a sub of a A330 in for a 737 to be a really good thing :)

-
 
I suspect the first one also gets involved with certification testing with the authorities, and getting the aircraft onto its AOC....
Qantas Group already has 11 787s (Boeing considers the 787-9 coming in Oct to be the 12th for QF). Would CASA really need to do extra certification testing on the 787-9 when they've already done it on the 787-8?
 
Incidently most folks consider a sub of a A330 in for a 737 to be a really good thing :)

-

Totally agree. My question originates because I often upgrade local flights. Row 4 to row 1 on a 737 is an entirely different proposition to the equivalent upgrade on an Airbus.
 
Incidently most folks consider a sub of a A330 in for a 737 to be a really good thing :)

Personally, if travelling on a short flight like SYD-MEL in economy, and not planning to upgrade to business, I'd actually prefer my usual 4A on a B738. You get endless legroom plus the convenience of being able to stow your carryon under the business seat in front of you, unlike the equivalent bulkhead seats on the A330.
 
Incidently most folks consider a sub of a A330 in for a 737 to be a really good thing :)

-

When I was regularly doing the SYD/MEL, I would avoid the A330s like the plague and would dread the substitution of the 737 for a 330 ... why??

1. Invariably a SYD-MEL evening A330 would come in from Perth - and usually late.

2. It takes (much) longer to turnaround a A330 (when already arriving late).

3. Statistically more likelihood of a no-show/offload (and further delay) since greater number of pax.

Regards,

BD
 
Back when I was commuting between Sydney and Melbourne, I always tried to get a 767. Bit hard now....
 
Back when I was commuting between Sydney and Melbourne, I always tried to get a 767. Bit hard now....
I was always happy to get one when flying transcon. The 743s were about as good as it got for a few years there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top