Qantas Premium Economy out of Brisbane to London

[therudies86]

Hi all,

Long time lurker.

I'm doing some work in the UK for the next six months, and will be travelling 2-3 times on Qantas. I'm from Brisbane, and have agreed with my employer to Premium Economy. My first flight this Mon 24 Oct on QF051/QF009 has Premium Economy, but my return journey (leaving London late 29 Nov) doesn't have any Premium Economy available from Singapore to Brisbane.

I'm having trouble finding what flights Brisbane to HK or Brisbane to Singapore have Premium Economy. Can anyone help please ?

Thanks in advance,

Mark

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Hi there, and welcome to AFF!

You are correct that Premium Economy (PE) is available on QF51 BNE-SIN, as this is being operated by a Boeing 747 on the date you provided. PE is also available on QF9 SIN-LHR, operated by an Airbus A380.

As to your flight home, I'm assuming that you're departing London on QF10 (Airbus A380) at 9:30pm (29/11), arriving into Singapore at 6:25pm (30/11). This flight does have PE seating.

From Singapore to Brisbane, QF52 is the only direct flight on that date, but it is being operated by an Airbus A330-300 (333), which only has Business and Economy seating (no First or PE). Your only option for PE from Singapore on that date is to fly on QF6 to Sydney, clear Customs/Immigration there, and then change to a domestic flight - either QF508, QF510 or QF512 to Brisbane (though these will again have only Business and Economy - but it's a much shorter flight)! Personally, if you were to choose this option, I would suggest either QF510 or QF512 (QF508 is being operated by an older 767, which has only one TV projection at the front of the cabin, whereas both QF510 and QF512 are scheduled to be operated by newer Boeing 737-800WL aircraft - much nicer, and you won't feel as rushed on the ground in Sydney)... having said that, if you book both the Singapore-Sydney and Sydney-Brisbane flights on the one itinerary, Qantas should be happy to move you to a later flight should you miss the one you've selected.

I also checked Hong Kong for you, but it's also being operated by a 333, so no PE into Brisbane. Unfortunately, the two decent exit row seats on QF52 have already been nabbed, so there's no compromise to be had there either!

As an example, choosing QF6/QF510 would mean you'd arrive into Brisbane at 9:05am (instead of 7:10am in the case of the direct flight), so if this minor difference doesn't bother you or your employer, then go for it! Generally, if it's booked correctly, transiting through Sydney shouldn't overly affect the cost of your ticket (but remember to keep it on one itinerary to protect from misconnecting)!

Furthermore, with Gold status, you may be able to pre-select emergency exit seating in rows 13 & 14 on QF510 or QF512 (for the extra legroom), as all of these seats are currently showing as unclaimed on both flights.

Hopefully I've been helpful - if you have any other questions or would like me to help you find PE availability on other routes and dates, I'm happy to do so

 

[therudies86]

Thanks heaps ChrisCh,

Really appreciated ! Broadly, I'm happy to take a shorter flight duration in Y (i.e. Singapore direct to Brisbane) rather than Y+ to Sydney and then Y SYD-BNE.

Is there a way to easily see when Y+ flights are available out of Brisbane on other dates ? The only way I can see via the Qantas or other travel websites is to take pot luck on a date and hope for the best. And even then, when I check on some flights (e.g. QF51) and look at the aircraft type it shows as a two class 747 not three class. Or I could simply ask my corporate travel agent, but that's no fun

Cheers Mark

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Unfortunately, Qantas usually operates 330s BNE-SIN, so it appears that your find of a 747 operating this flight may be a one-off - as it seems for the next few months at least, it's all 330s on this route.

The only choice for PE out of BNE in this case would be via SYD/MEL, so perhaps consider whether the added status credits for doing this instead of Y from BNE will help you reach platinum? If not, I'm always happy to check exit row availability on flights for you before you book, if you were going to just put up with Y from BNE-SIN

 

[therudies86]

ChrisCh

It may not be the right thing to say around here :shock:, but I'm not so fussed about status credits or levels, just about leg room. I figure if I can book far enough ahead, and even pay $80 for a leg room seat, then I'm as happy a camper as I can be

My BNE-SIN leg this afternoon was about 20% full in Y+, so plenty of room to stretch out.

Thanks again for your help - much appreciated.

Cheers Mark