Qantas Perth to London tickets on sale… and why I won’t rush to get one…

Qantas have released their timetable and lead in fares for the non-stop Perth to London Heathrow route.

Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Rendering, Qantas

Qantas flight 9/10 will operate initially from Melbourne, then onto Perth, then non-stop to London Heathrow.

The Perth to London part of the timetable looks like this

QF9 DEPART PER 18:50 ARRIVE LHR 05:10+1
QF10 DEPART LHR 13:30 ARRIVE PER 13:15+1

Commences 24 March 2018
Booked Equipment: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Data: Qantas

The block times for these ultra-long haul segments are:

• Perth to London Heathrow – 17 hours 20 minutes
• London Heathrow to Perth – 16 hours 45 minutes

The combined timetable looks like this (combining the Melbourne segments)

QF9 DEPART MEL 15:20 ARRIVE PER 17:20 DEPART PER 18:50 ARRIVE LHR 05:10+1
QF10 DEPART LHR 13:30 ARRIVE PER 13:15+1 DEPART PER 14:45+1 ARRIVE MEL 20:10+1

Commences 24 March 2018
Booked Equipment: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Data: Qantas

The move will combine the A380 service that is currently operated between Melbourne to Heathrow via Dubai, ceasing this service.

The A380 will be re-deployed to high-capacity routes in Asia.

Lead-in fares start at

• Economy Class AU$2,270 (£1,315), dropping to bellow AU$2,000 (£1,158) on promotional offers
  
• Premium Economy to Melbourne AU$4,450 (£2,577), Perth AU$4,250 (£2,461)
• Business Class to Melbourne AU$9,890 (£5,727), Perth AU$9,725 (£5,631)

Alan Joyce of Qantas seems happy, stating:

Let me stop you there Alan. Because here come my thoughts.

Let’s do a seat count first:

• Business Class 42 Seats in 1-2-1
• Premium Economy 28 Seats 2-3-2
• Economy Class 166 in 3-3-3

If you’re in Business Class, you’re not going to care – but you probably will want to move around a bit. Those in Premium Economy have a more spacious seat, but it is such a small cabin compared to the rest of the plane.

Then we come onto the pain that is economy class. 3-3-3 formation aboard a Boeing 787.  We know what that means – 17″ seat widths. Whilst extra leg room could make up for that width loss – make no mistake – it’s tight. And that sensation doesn’t improve the longer you fly.

I’ve ranted on about tight 787s more than once and so has RunwayGirl.  The fact is that a 17″ seat width is tight no matter what features there are on a plane. And if you’re stuck in that seat for 17 hours or so, all the shiny baubles in the world won’t help when you’re awake and cramped either in the middle seat, or the window seat with minimal space to squirm and move around.

(and if you want to go to the toilet with two sleeping people next to you… good luck with that).

Yes, the single hop is great idea on paper – and I’m sure it will sell seats… but it needs the right plane providing the right comfort level. The 787 may be the right the right plane.

But the right comfort level? I’m not so sure.

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