Lax - Bne

[dasher2]

Hi All,

Just travelled back from LAX (176), and for the first time (that I noticed) the 744 was a 3 class to Brisbane, does anyone know if this is a change Qantas are making, ie First Class in and out of Brisbane or just an aircraft change for that sector?

Also, any reason why some nights at LA (mainly Fridays) the Plane is parked at a stand off and requires a bus transfer out there and some nights you use the normal gates?

Thanks in advance

 

[NM]

No, Qantas do not sell first class for any flights out of Brisbane. Sometimes they will use a 3-class aircraft to operate the flight that has been sold as 2-classes. In that case up to 14 lucky business class passengers get to sit in First Class seats. However, they still receive business class service.

 

[Wunala Dreaming]

Am I correct in saying you flew aboard VH-OJT which arrived into Brisbane today as QF176?

This is what I believe has happened. VH-OJT flew up from SYD on WED as QF6181. Then flew QF175 BNE-LAX (landing LAX on WED). It then has operated QF26 LAX-AKL-MEL (departing LAX WED night) arriving into Melbourne on the Friday just gone. It then has operated QF25 MEL-AKL-LAX back to Los Angeles (landing on Friday) before departing as QF176 to Brisbane later on Friday night. As a result of time changes, VH-OJT should have landed into Brisbane this morning as QF176 from LAX. And as a result, you've been lucky enough to fly on a 3-Class 747 from Los Angeles to Brisbane.

Did you manage to sit in a Skybed seat? Did they close off F class or only use it for dead-heading staff? I'd be interested to know what they did!

Over the past few Wednesdays, Qantas has operated the following 3-class 747s on QF175 Brisbane-Los Angeles:

WED 14: VH-OEJ
WED 21: VH-OJH
WED 28: VH-OJT

What's happening is that Qantas is flying a 744 from SYD to BNE every WED as QF6181, before flying it onto Los Angeles as QF175. On WED also, QF176 lands in BNE from LAX as positioned as QF6182 to Sydney. I believe this is due to maintenance requirements. A 3-Class 744 has been flying QF175 for the past few WEDs - I have noticed on the BNE Arrivals board, QF6181 is due from SYD on WED 7 March - so it will be interesting to see if a 3-Class 747 is being used again.

Unfortunately, this does not signal the introduction of F to Brisbane, it's only saying that Qantas is rotating 3-Class 747s through Brisbane due to maintenance, technical and repositioning requirements.

I hope I haven't bored you (have a big interest in aircraft movements) and I hope that this post has explained a few things to you.

With regards to the 747 being parked at a standoff bay and pax being transferred by bus, I could only guess (never been to LAX) that this may be due to there not being enough gates (extra flights, u/s aircraft, weather requiring aircraft to stay at gate etc) at the terminal.

Cheers

 

[NM]

With regards to the 747 being parked at a standoff bay and pax being transferred by bus, I could only guess (never been to LAX) that this may be due to there not being enough gates (extra flights, u/s aircraft, weather requiring aircraft to stay at gate etc) at the terminal.

It happens quite often as TBI gates are in high demand. Of course the worst part about the remote gates is that with the TBI gates full it is going to be a real zoo in the arrivals hall.

I have used the remote stands on 3 or 4 occasions at LAX.

 

[Hawkeye]

I have heard murmurings that true 3 class services will be offered for BNE-LAX in the near future. Is there any basis to these rumours?

 

[serfty]

It happens quite often as TBI gates are in high demand. Of course the worst part about the remote gates is that with the TBI gates full it is going to be a real zoo in the arrivals hall.

I have used the remote stands on 3 or 4 occasions at LAX.

Used a remote stand for QF25 last year; Fortunately we were b*ssed to T4.

 

[bigjobs]

last year when i was travelling to North America about once per month the 3 class operated out of brisbane more than once per week. this was mainly due to the AVOD 'upgrades' ... it was great. i actually changed my seating preference to forward and would call up a couple of days before and reserve one of the first class sleepers.

sometimes i'd get them on the way back too. god it was brilliant

 

[serfty]

I have heard murmurings that true 3 class services will be offered for BNE-LAX in the near future. Is there any basis to these rumours?

Maybe, just maybe, this could happen if / when Qantas start operating the A380. I would expect this to free up some 3 class 747's for other use. Possible Qantas may decide to put these onto QF175/QF176 and again sell First class (also QF25/QF26 MEL/LAX for that matter).

 

[Hawkeye]

I agree that availability of metal would seem the greatest barrier. I suspect that getting people into the seats won't be a problem at all.

 

[NM]

I have heard murmurings that true 3 class services will be offered for BNE-LAX in the near future. Is there any basis to these rumours?

I have heard such a rumour, but that does not mean its not going to happen. However, I don't expect it to happen anytime soon.

 

[simongr]

Is there any way to predict this? I would consider routing a future US flight via BNE if it meant I was able to get an F seat - not really bothered too much about F service - but an F seat would be grand (I would bring my own PJ's )

 

[NM]

Is there any way to predict this? I would consider routing a future US flight via BNE if it meant I was able to get an F seat - not really bothered too much about F service - but an F seat would be grand (I would bring my own PJ's )

Not really with any certainty. Best option is to watch the seat maps for J in ExpertFlyer or a similar tool as that will reflect the type of aircraft that Qantas is intending to operate on that date.

But as always, aircraft plans can and do change. So if Qantas fleet management cannot predict the tyoe of aircraft, then you and I are not going to any better chance of doing so.

 

[bigjobs]

Is there any way to predict this? I would consider routing a future US flight via BNE if it meant I was able to get an F seat - not really bothered too much about F service - but an F seat would be grand (I would bring my own PJ's )

you can also look for the times/dates when QF bring another aircraft up to BNE from SYD - around wednesday at the moment according to earlier posts. this is no guarantee of course.

 

[Wunala Dreaming]

Thought this good run was going to come to an end (original SYD-BNE repositioning flight was cancelled today)... fortunately, it didn't!

VH-OJH operated QF175 BNE-LAX today

A summary of the past few weeks:

WED 14: VH-OEJ
WED 21: VH-OJH
WED 28: VH-OJT
WED 07: VH-OJH

Noticed QF6181 on next WED's BNE Airport Arrivals page. Here's hoping the use of 3-Class 747s on QF175 BNE-LAX on Wednesdays continues for some time to come. I know when i'll be flying now!

Cheers