Qantas 747s to fly Perth-Sydney

[gibbo8]

Not sure if I have travelled on an international config A330 in J. Do they have skybeds and I wonder if the reconfig will mean the new version skybed?

Cheers

 

[bertflyer]

Qantas ups capacity in major WA push (744s to fly PER- East Coast)

Good to see 747s (now 744s) making a return to PER from the east coast:

"The jumbo jet will fly six round-trip services a week and be in a full international configuration, which will include video on demand in all cabins and lie-flat seats in business class."

and interestingly, as far as the domestic A330's are concerned:

"And it has reversed a decision to put a middle seat in business class on its A330s. It will reconfigure the planes to the more user-friendly 2-2-2 arrangement."

Article from the The Australian website (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...in-major-wa-push/story-e6frg95x-1226006890394)
cheers
Bert

 

[Princess Fiona]

Not sure if I have travelled on an international config A330 in J. Do they have skybeds and I wonder if the reconfig will mean the new version skybed?

Cheers

A330 has Mark I Skybeds

 

[serfty]

Not sure if I have travelled on an international config A330 in J. Do they have skybeds and I wonder if the reconfig will mean the new version skybed?

Cheers

"international config A330 in J. " ≡ "Skybed Mk I"

The "Domestic" 332's have either Recaro or Millennium seats

 

[dk4]

QF A330 domestic J (arm-rest video-on-demand version 2x2x2 layout)

 

[simongr]

Wasn't there some talk around that DJ were going to roll out fully flat seats on the trans-con?

I don't know - what do you think you would be expecting?

I would certainly not be expecting a flat beds on a four hour flight. At best I would be expecting dreamtime seating with a little more pizazz (bigger IFE screen, electric motors etc.)

I think QF will be quick to remove the F seats unless they are pressed for time. Still, rather interesting if they put out the 744s on the trans-con without ripping up the F seats first (note that meal carts can't fit in the "aisles" of the F cabin, which is why J service in the F cabin is done as full tray service where applicable).

The F seats are only coming out when the new J seats go in across J so you will either get a 2 class cabin (e.g. a QF5 bird), a reconfigured 744 with SKB2 or an aircraft with an F seat.

 

[Paddy55]

I would certainly not be expecting a flat beds on a four hour flight. At best I would be expecting dreamtime seating with a little more pizazz (bigger IFE screen, electric motors etc.)

Often the SYD-PER 12 noon'ish, and return PER-SYD 3:15pm are a Skyslope equipped A330... and very comfortable it is compared to other configs

As I do this trip every couple of months this is a good leap in the right direction.

Paddy

 

[markis10]

The F seats are only coming out when the new J seats go in across J so you will either get a 2 class cabin (e.g. a QF5 bird), a reconfigured 744 with SKB2 or an aircraft with an F seat.

Refits start in Aug I believe so rule that out for a while, two class conversions should be completed by then into three class, so you will either get three class or 4 class with F.

 

[moa999]

The unanswered question is will QF sell Y+ for the trip or just use 2-class planes or make status Y flyers very happy.

 

[Paul_PER]

I just picked some random days - they are already listed as QF581/582. Flight times are 15-20 minutes less vs other aircraft.

I'm pleased - the 742's and 743's were my favourite for doing the crossing.

It's a great VB A330 spoiler - who happened to be launching in .... May.

 

[JohnK]

I can see the excitement generated already over this announcement. But I think QF has made a mistake. Surely SYD-BNE and SYD-MEL are more deserving of 747s than the backwater that is PER!

As for the old 763s. I have no problem sitting in them for a 4-5 hour flight rather than a brand new 737 or A320....

 

[pauly7]

Fantastic news!! Very happy here...

Don't people think that this is a little 'unfair' in a way though?, QF using their international product against DJ... - there is no way the DJ J class will compare to Skybed.

I guess you could argue DJ could throw a 777 on some Perth routes instead of the desert routes

But anyway - for me - happy. The A330 going back to 2-2-2 is old news but still great... QF are making all the right moves at the 'threat' of competition, can't wait to see how it heats up when DJ actually launch!!

 

[simongr]

Fantastic news!! Very happy here...

Don't people think that this is a little 'unfair' in a way though?, QF using their international product against DJ... - there is no way the DJ J class will compare to Skybed.

I only think it would be unfair to the pax if they implied this was the norm.

 

[casanovawa]

there's nothing fair in love and war... or business...

and i don't want to dignify that Perth comment with a response.... :shock:

 

[ejb]

I don't think being fair comes into play in business.

I do think though that this means QF are taking the "new" DJ seriously.

I am looking forward to flying the 744's and will be choosing these flights for my commute to PER.

ejb

 

[oz_mark]

It would be nice to see these on BNE-PER and MEL-PER as well.

Come to think of it, does BNE D and MEL T1 have the capability to handle a 747-400? MEL T1 maybe is a definite 'yes'; BNE not so sure.

In any case, I think the words "apply the blow torch" is rather overrated. Reasons:

Well,it is clearly aimes at DJ, given this comment in the press release

"Our competitors can simply not match the service that Qantas offers, particularly the Skybeds, which provide increased comfort on the longer routes between the eastern states and Perth.

• No matter what product they put on the route, if DJ set a sharp new standard for J pricing on the route then QF will more than likely be forced to drop to a comparable or equal level for pricing. That's going to really burn the bean counters (and the customers are next in line).

The changes to using the 747 and removing seats from the A330 suggest that Qantas are going the premium product approach first, which would be aimed at trying to maintain pricing. If skybeds somehow became the norm, expect J pricing to increase over time.

 

[docjames]

I can see the excitement generated already over this announcement. But I think QF has made a mistake. Surely SYD-BNE and SYD-MEL are more deserving of 747s than the backwater that is PER!

As for the old 763s. I have no problem sitting in them for a 4-5 hour flight rather than a brand new 737 or A320....

I know the first part is tongue in cheek, but the economics in their current config on a 1hr sector is not good.:shock:

Agree with you - give me an older 763 on sectors >2.5hr vs a 738 or 320....

 

[samiam]

Does it need to depart from the domestic terminal, couldn’t they just add it to an international route and fly it from the international terminal, thus making a lot of WP’s very happy?

Oh I think I just shivered

 

[pauly7]

[*]No matter what product they put on the route, if DJ set a sharp new standard for J pricing on the route then QF will more than likely be forced to drop to a comparable or equal level for pricing. That's going to really burn the bean counters (and the customers are next in line).
.

Pricing is an interesting question for discussion.

DJ won't be able to go super cheap as they will need to get a ROI on their new capex and they aren't exactly rolling in money at the moment.

Also a huge % of J travel are corporates of which QF well and truly have stitched up. So DJ will need to attack them and QF know they are coming, it won't be a short process to get a corporate across to fill their cabins.

The corporates typically have access to decent discounts on retail J rates, in addition to volume rebates etc. QF then keep retail rates comparatively higher for the average Joe... Do we really think DJ will price their retail rates THAT much lower? Will they be able to without the corporates filling the rest of the seats?

Just questions I've been mulling...

I'm just not convinced we'll see a 'public/retail' price war in J... Maybe a launch special.....Of course I'm kinda hoping for a public price war!

 

[serfty]

Late last century I worked for a few years at a very large semi-government entity.

They received an across the board monthly rebate of 20% of all invoicing via their account.

We were not permitted to book our own flights and claim; it had to be through the travel department accounts.