QF 117 from 31 March 2019

[Melburnian1]

Certainly a possibility.

If that's the case, then, why not just keep the current schedule and not have a plane sit in HKG for ~17 hours each day?

Agree.

Even for businessmen, isn't an 0500 hours arrival (if on time) and then 0600 hours (or better) catching say a train into the Hong Kong CBD too early? The SYD curfew dictates this: it's not feasible to schedule a 2250 hours departure, but even then the arrival time would only be 0530 hours.

No one has confirmed that this long layover in HKG is for maintenance, but I can't think of any other reason.

Poor utilisation, just as QF25 forms QF26 after sitting at HND all day (the latter may be more of a lack of slots issue, as Himeno keeps reminding us).

 

[Himeno]

Poor utilisation, just as QF25 forms QF26 after sitting at HND all day (the latter may be more of a lack of slots issue, as Himeno keeps reminding us).

It's not lack of slots. It's times of slots.
There is more then enough slots available for Qantas to operate a standard turn to HND and not leave the aircraft sitting on the ground all day. Given the ground transport options, the most reasonable option is to leave SYD early afternoon to arrive HND at 2200, then depart around midnight. Which Qantas has done many times when they've had to delay the flight overnight.
Qantas leaves the 747 parked at HND for 17 hours because it wants to, not because it has to.

 

[lazblue]

Poor utilisation, just as QF25 forms QF26 after sitting at HND all day (the latter may be more of a lack of slots issue, as Himeno keeps reminding us).

It's not lack of slots. It's times of slots.
There is more then enough slots available for Qantas to operate a standard turn to HND and not leave the aircraft sitting on the ground all day. Given the ground transport options, the most reasonable option is to leave SYD early afternoon to arrive HND at 2200, then depart around midnight. Which Qantas has done many times when they've had to delay the flight overnight.
Qantas leaves the 747 parked at HND for 17 hours because it wants to, not because it has to.

Maybe the overnight flights both directions is better for business travellers between Sydney-Tokyo?! Qantas has always parked an aircraft in Tokyo during the day, even back in the QF21/22 days at NRT. Also, NH does the same thing and operates overnight flights in both directions SYD-HND - their 787 sits at SYD all day.

 

[pauly7]

AU-HK air service agreement allows for the following 5th freedom rights:

Through flights to HKG: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand - 7 per week on each
Beyond HKG:
Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea - 8 flights per week (combined)
Germany, France, Scandinavia, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland - 1 point only, 3 per week
UK - 1 port only, 7 per week

50% of aircraft capacity or 200 pax per flight, whichever is higher.

Yes please to Malaysia but highly unlikely will ever happen.... I think the lack of premium demand on that route would be the clincher on why it hasn’t been put in...

But with Malaysia Airlines still struggling and who knows how much they will continue to cut back, might open a door for a QF flight one day...

 

[Himeno]

Qantas has always parked an aircraft in Tokyo during the day, even back in the QF21/22 days at NRT.

Except they used to do it with all their NRT flights. I remember a JL domestic flight into NRT on an afternoon back in 2010 where we flew over the parked QF 747 and 767 (SYD and PER flights, the old MEL QF flight was canned in 2008, a week after I booked it).
Now, they only keep the 747 at HND all day. The A330s to NRT from BNE and MEL are on the ground for ~2 hours before flying back.

Also, NH does the same thing and operates overnight flights in both directions SYD-HND - their 787 sits at SYD all day.

That one has more to do with the SYD curfew and the complication of the HND overnight slots. Their only other option, when considering HND ground transport, would be to depart HND when it does now then depart SYD at lunch time. They have the aircraft paired up with another route, so it would sit somewhere for that long. Cheaper rates to park in SYD for the day then in HND.

I am expecting QF to bring back a regular QF21/22 SYD-NRT along with QF25/26 SYD-HND 787 pair when they get more 787s and retire the 747s currently needed for the HND route.

 

[jfl]

So I'm booked in for QF117 for 8th November 2019, but it's still showing 15:50 departure and 22:15 arrival. Will this change?

 

[Melburnian1]

So I'm booked in for QF117 for 8th November 2019, but it's still showing 15:50 departure and 22:15 arrival. Will this change?

That's after the next 'northern winter' timetable change date, so it may simply be that the airline is at this stage only changing those for the 'northern summer' period. At face value that seems odd as we can all book ahead 353 days or so on most airlines, and one would think any passenger transport operator wants to minimise the number of changes it has to make to booked passengers' itineraries, as it creates more work - some of it manual - for the in this case airline.

 

[MelbMatt]

If only qantas would restore their HKG to LHR flight. Maybe they’re lining up to do this if they take a flight away from Dubai??

 

[jpp42]

But doesn't QF only have 2 slots in/out of LHR these days? One is used for PER-LHR and the other for SIN-LHR. I thought they had to give up the other 2 pairs to BA when QF/BA stopped codesharing back around the time of the EK tie-up.

 

[Himeno]

But doesn't QF only have 2 slots in/out of LHR these days? One is used for PER-LHR and the other for SIN-LHR. I thought they had to give up the other 2 pairs to BA when QF/BA stopped codesharing back around the time of the EK tie-up.

Slots at LHR are treated as airline assets (which is rare for slot controlled airports) and are traded, sold and leased between airlines.

Qantas owns 4 slot pairs at LHR. The 2 unused pairs are leased to BA.

 

[Himeno]

If only qantas would restore their HKG to LHR flight. Maybe they’re lining up to do this if they take a flight away from Dubai??

Qantas no longer has any flights to "take away" from Dubai. They stopped flying there a year ago.
They moved the SYD-LHR back to via Singapore and the MEL-LHR to go via Perth.

It is possible that once (if) they get their "project sunrise" non stop SYD/MEL-LHR flights, they will keep one or two flights with a stop over in Perth or Asia and have 3 or 4 flights to London with 1 or 2 non stop.

 

[FL360]

Qantas has always parked an aircraft in Tokyo during the day,

the Japanese are obsessed with cleanliness and they need more time to clean the aircraft, unlike the SYD 15 min rush job. ;-)

 

[jfl]

So I'm booked in for QF117 for 8th November 2019, but it's still showing 15:50 departure and 22:15 arrival. Will this change?

And the flight change came through today. A bit strange since the schedule has been out for so long!

 

[Brettmcg]

And the flight change came through today. A bit strange since the schedule has been out for so long!

It had something to do with a hold up in slot approvals from the HKG Airport Authority. Up until yesterday, changes had only been made in the GDS up until the end of calendar week 43, now it would appear they have come through as a permanent fixture.