Qantas to maybe axe Melbourne-London A380 Flights

[whatmeworry]

Sorry if this already has it own thread.

Their are rumours with the new PER-LHR route, Melburnians will lose their flights to LHR via DXB on the A380 whilst Sydney-Centric Qantas will keep their Sydney A380 flights to LHR.

Emirates would move to fill in the new gap in Qantas’ network, rostering one of its own aircraft onto the Melbourne-Dubai leg as a codeshare with Qantas, according to a plan developed between the airlines.

Qantas to axe Melbourne-Dubai-London Airbus A380 QF9/QF10 flight? - Australian Business Traveller

 

[downgraded]

Interesting how this would erode the improved A380 utilisation that the currently staggered Qf 1 vs qf 9 schedule provides.

 

[mviy]

I would be very disappointed not to have a MEL QF metal A380 route to LHR.

 

[moa999]

Loads are already reportedly poor on some dates, and if you divert some traffic to the 787 flights I guess it becomes unviable

(Really don't know why this needed a new thread)

 

[serfty]

...

(Really don't know why this needed a new thread)

It is important for many and deserves it's own thread.

 

[NZflygirl]

They'd always keep Syd.

Maybe it's a fuel thing? They can still provide a service to LHR but fuel wise Per is closer and they could still utilise the structure they have in place for domestic flying with MEL-SYD/PER.

 

[Basalt]

I would be very disappointed not to have a MEL QF metal A380 route to LHR.

Ditto for sure. We'd be very dissapointed to say the least. The MEL-LHR QF metal 380 route is the main reason we're sticking with Qantas. If Qantas drops it, we'll be spending a lot more time on other carriers.

Also, IMO, Qantas divesting the QF metal route between such an important Australian city (parochial jokes aside ) and London would in some ways be a defeat. I can't believe that a carrier can't adequately load 380s on a route between a home country city of 4.5 million and London!

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I was under the impression the PER-LHR was really a PR angle for the enhanced MEL-DXB-LHR to be MEL-PER-LHR.

It's not sexy to say your Heathrow bound flight has a stopover in Perth.
Another way to look at it is Qantas is cutting overall capacity to London (380 vs 787 seating).
This also means there is only one remaining flight ex-MEL on QF which has First Class.
Less upgrade opportunities on 787 versus 744/380
Fewer status credits and less FF points earning
Less capacity = fewer seats in each fare bucket = higher prices

Aside from the semi-coolness factor of having the longest commercial flight time, when you read between the lines it's quite a negative move for travellers and frequent flyers.

 

[moa999]

, when you read between the lines it's quite a negative move for travellers and frequent flyers.

for those in MEL yes, not for those in PER, regional WA, even BNE, ADL who can now one-stop to LHR on QF metal

 

[trippin_the_rift]

for those in MEL yes, not for those in PER, regional WA, even BNE, ADL who can now one-stop to LHR on QF metal

I'll take a wild stab in the dark that the number of QF centric flyers (those who prioritise QF over any other carrier) in PER compared to MEL (who want direct into LHR) has likely diminished over the years.

When visiting any other city other than London, this adds an extra stop and unnecessary flight costs (eg: Heathrow tax) over almost every other flight option available today. There are more than 15 airlines selling this route presently.

Additionally, the total flight duration SYD/MEL -> xx_ -> LHR may well be shorter than SYD/MEL -> PER -> LHR. Because of this, and lack of a First Class lounge in PER, and highly likely longer immigration/customs lines due to terminal issues, and loss of SC/FF points, it's safe to say anyone who is status-driven won't find the change from MEL to PER interesting. In this sense, a PER-LHR won't be taking any traffic from existing BNE/SYD/MEL routes and would need to rely on WA/SA.

QF already sells PER-DXB-LHR on EK metal, so this option exists for those wanting the points.

I'm sceptical of this working for QF. The data is probably there to back it up from a traffic perspective, but a major reason people book tickets is behavioural, and more often than not, data cannot accurately predict the outcome when emotions are involved.

Heck, I might be wrong!

 

[wanderer_au]

for those in MEL yes, not for those in PER, regional WA, even BNE, ADL who can now one-stop to LHR on QF metal

...which is the rub I suspect for many people in AFF, as it is so Melbourne-centric. I have never understood why.

 

[bsb]

I can't believe that a carrier can't adequately load 380s on a route between a home country city of 4.5 million and London!

I wonder this too, especially as flying on Qantas is better than most other intermediaries IMHO.

 

[funkyr]

I'm not keen on a 17h flight and much prefer a stop over in SIN/DXB etc. I must admit I'd be looking at flying on EK metal or another airline if options from MEL-EU all go through PER.

 

[ashleyn]

I would be very disappointed not to have a MEL QF metal A380 route to LHR.

Welcome to the world of Perth people.

 

[Franky]

Let's not forget that this is just the beginning. It is not all about LHR, nor QF. It opens up options to other European cities to/from Perth for QF, and also any European airline which might have Dreamliners to fly direct into Perth rather than other ports.

 

[Lionel Hutz]

Ditto for sure. We'd be very dissapointed to say the least. The MEL-LHR QF metal 380 route is the main reason we're sticking with Qantas. If Qantas drops it, we'll be spending a lot more time on other carriers.

Also, IMO, Qantas divesting the QF metal route between such an important Australian city (parochial jokes aside ) and London would in some ways be a defeat. I can't believe that a carrier can't adequately load 380s on a route between a home country city of 4.5 million and London!

Just too much competition on the route and other alternative routes, with AJ's remarks at the AGM reiterated in Australian Aviation Qantas plans “game-changing” Perth-London 787-9 services in March 2018 | Australian Aviation
The A388 has always been a lot of plane to try and fill with fares giving a reasonable yield. It's well suited to the flights to the US with less competitive pressure, but looks like not so much on routes with so much competition like MEL-LHR.

 

[browski]

So from MEL..........I can leave on the Emirates 6am flight to Dubai, have a 90 minute connection and arrive the same day at Heathrow on an EK A380 at 6.20pm.

Or I can fly domestic 4 hours to Perth and then go through immigration and fly 17 hours to London, arriving the following day.

Why would any Melbourne resident choose to go via Perth - that would be most unpleasant.
Great win for Perth residents, but it's a real stinker for Melbourne.

 

[suze2000]

I wonder if the inability to fill an A380 from MEL has something to do with DXB as the stopover?

It's not a pleasant place to transit and I would try to avoid it if there was another choice with similar comfort.

The thought though that the QF MEL-DXB-LHR is under threat would actually make me reluctant to book one anyway now, for fear that your flight will be summarily cancelled and you'll find yourself in a middle seat on a MEL-PER-LHR, or worse EK on the same route instead. No thanks!

 

[TheInsider]

I wonder if the inability to fill an A380 from MEL has something to do with DXB as the stopover?

It's not a pleasant place to transit and I would try to avoid it if there was another choice with similar comfort.

The thought though that the QF MEL-DXB-LHR is under threat would actually make me reluctant to book one anyway now, for fear that your flight will be summarily cancelled and you'll find yourself in a middle seat on a MEL-PER-LHR, or worse EK on the same route instead. No thanks!

Has nothing to do with DXB at all. I reckon the main issue is the fact they can't fill up the DXB-LHR leg as much as they can fill up the MEL-DXB leg. A lot more people are connecting to european destinations rather than LHR.

Also if DXB was the issue, then why would Emirates have 3 flights per day just out of MEL to DXB!

 

[badseed]

Has nothing to do with DXB at all. I reckon the main issue is the fact they can't fill up the DXB-LHR leg as much as they can fill up the MEL-DXB leg. A lot more people are connecting to european destinations rather than LHR.

That's it exactly for me. The places I want to go in Europe are usually ZRH or TXL as a starting point. Pretty annoying having to backtrack from LHR after having flown over your desired destination. Cramming into the ever-shrinking BA A320 Y (and J) seats for another 90 minutes after 24+ hours of travel is not my idea of fun.


Plus London is just not the drawcard it once was for many Australians... Offer me MEL - PER - TXL and I'd be tempted ;-) Looks like it'd be around an hour shorter flight too.