Qantas Project Sunrise goes ahead, 12 new A350-1000s ordered

[leesionn]

Per Qantas’ instagram she has been painted and is named Vega, and will sport the reg VH-OJA (taking over the 747s).

IMO it looks gorgeous but I feel like the A350 looks good in any livery.

Also, the aircraft type label is A350-1000ULR, so I suppose that means Airbus is making the moniker official?

 

[jase05]

Can absolutely see these flights being a roaring success but I can’t help but feel for those that live outside Sydney or Perth there is so many better one stop options and I doubt I’ll bother with it for now

 

[levelnine]

Can absolutely see these flights being a roaring success but I can’t help but feel for those that live outside Sydney or Perth there is so many better one stop options and I doubt I’ll bother with it for now

The Perth options already exist.

QF have made PS a play for the Sydney basin.

 

[SYD]

A family of four on Classic Rewards in the new A350-1000? LOL pull the other one! Be lucky if you get two.

Correct.

There we go. QF has decided to cede the premium market out of MEL to other carriers.

Apparently not.

The Age/SMH reporting “Project Sunrise flights from Melbourne would depend on future demand”.

“If we see the demand, we’re going to be able [to] announce the routes progressively as the new aircraft come in over the next two-and-a-half years,” Hudson said. “So demand can change, we know how demand can change, and we’re going to be responsive to that.”

It makes Sunrise a far more underwhelming concept being non-stop on only two routes.

Guess we’ll wait and see.

Also, it's very funny to see people thinking they stand a chance at getting a classic reward seat on these flights in a premium cabin lol.

Yeah, nah…. Well, except maybe in whY…

 

[levelnine]

Apparently not.

The Age/SMH reporting “Project Sunrise flights from Melbourne would depend on future demand”.

“If we see the demand, we’re going to be able [to] announce the routes progressively as the new aircraft come in over the next two-and-a-half years,” Hudson said. “So demand can change, we know how demand can change, and we’re going to be responsive to that.”

Qantas is famous for over promising and under delivering.

And they're not even promising MEL ...

Yeah, nah…. Well, except maybe in whY…

'premium'

 

[justinbrett]

Even AJ was saying PS MEL would come later after seeing how SYD went.

Yet people are acting surprised. I remember when he said it years ago it was a busy day on AFF.

 

[jase05]

QF have made PS a play for the Sydney basin.

And fair enough it’s a smart move and flights will be packed.
As someone who lives in a port that will never see PS it holds little interest for me personally with better priced and better options but I’m in the minority

 

[lovestotravel]

QF hates MEL and I doubt we'll ever see Sunrise flights here.

 

[mbe1510]

Not clear from this which 787 routes to the US and Europe get replaced with the A350s
View attachment 510644

Suspect it would Dallas getting the A350 based on where the dots go.

And fair enough it’s a smart move and flights will be packed.
As someone who lives in a port that will never see PS it holds little interest for me personally with better priced and better options but I’m in the minority

I agree and most airlines centralise operations from one key hub. Sydney is Australia's global city so it makes sense that it is a fortress for Qantas and it would have significantly more inbound demand for it compared to Melbourne. Who knows these project sunrise flights could be fizzer. No one knows.

Suspect we will soon find out if Melbourne drives a lot of inbound demand when BA starts operating to Australia's second city.

 

[levelnine]

I’m in the minority

I wouldn't say that. It confirms that it will be a niche play.

And lol at anyone thinking it is a surprise. It's completely in line with QF's recent trajectory in MEL.

 

[lovestotravel]

Can absolutely see these flights being a roaring success but I can’t help but feel for those that live outside Sydney or Perth there is so many better one stop options and I doubt I’ll bother with it for now

Yeah I have no interest in doing 20+ hours. The +1 did MEL-PER-LHR about 2 years ago and she said it was one of the worst long-haul flights.

Standard average QF service, unable to get another bottle of water and food options/quality was blah
787 - She didn't like it, and said the A350 is much better

But, just too long on a plane was the main issue.

We'll stick to SQ via SIN, and also EK

 

[LondonAussie]

The Age/SMH reporting “Project Sunrise flights from Melbourne would depend on future demand”.

Melbourne now has a larger population than Sydney, how can there be not enough demand to/from Melbourne?

 

[mviy]

I still miss the A380 services from MEL to LHR that were scrapped in favour of the Dreamliner via PER. That seems like ages ago now and QF not bringing back MEL flights to LHR for so long already shows how little they value the MEL market.

 

[Quickstatus]

QF has decided to cede the premium market out of MEL to other carriers.

The airline has been ceding passengers to other carriers for years and will continue to do so.

 

[lovestotravel]

Also need to remember, these flights will not likely be filled with leisure travelers who are price sensitive. We have to wait another 8 months to see pricing, but you are not going to see $1,500 Y fares or $8,000 J fares to LHR.

Sunrise flights will be used by corporates, of which most are in Sydney

 

[Quickstatus]

Sunrise flights will be used by corporates, of which most are in Sydney

That is basically the only market QF can compete in

 

[SYD]

Melbourne now has a larger population than Sydney,

Depends on how you draw the boundary. Greater Sydney > Greater Melbourne. The catchment for WSI is the 3rd largest in Oz after SYD and MEL.

how can there be not enough demand to/from Melbourne?

This…

Sunrise flights will be used by corporates, of which most are in Sydney

 

[jase05]

Sunrise flights will be used by corporates, of which most are in Sydney

And the freight hub

 

[lovestotravel]

And the freight hub

Not sure how much freight they will get on these. TBH, many others... are surprised Airbus even managed to get the extra tank to work.....

 

[moa999]

The gnashing from some Mel folk is crazy.

Literally nothing has changed for Melbourne.
We knew years ago that the initial aircraft would be based in Sydney and that's what's happened.

Yesterday's announcement basically covers the first six aircraft, exactly what happens to the rest will depend on demand.

Personally I think it will be a roaring success and we will see MEL-LHR on Sunrise aircraft sometime in late 2028.

But in the meantime use on the PER-LHR routes may well free up 787s for MEL based services.

The other question for me is what happens to F demand on the A380sm. Can only see that dropping given the superior offering on the A350.

And I don't think there is enough life left in the A380s (particularly given ordering times for new seats) for an upgrade.