Qantas boosts B787 flights to Europe, cuts elsewhere

By Andrew Curran.

Qantas will take some widebody aircraft off domestic routes, trim frequencies to the Americas, and pull the B787-9 off the Brisbane – Los Angeles route to beef up capacity into Europe over the coming months.

This week, Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson confirmed the changes in an internal employee memo. The adjustments are also starting to show in schedule updates.

The move is a response to ongoing conflict in the Gulf region, through which around 50% of passengers flying between Australia and Europe normally transit.

Qantas flights to Europe don’t normally stop in the Gulf. Other than re-routing slightly to avoid the area and temporarily operating the daily Perth (PER) – London Heathrow (LHR) QF9 service via Singapore, its services to and from Europe have been relatively unaffected.

But with the three big Gulf carriers operating scaled back schedules and many passengers reticent to transit in the region, demand for seats on alternative airlines flying between Australia and Europe is outstripping supply.

This is driving up ticket prices and, notwithstanding escalating fuel prices, presents a revenue rich opportunity for Qantas.

More capacity allocated to Paris and Rome

Among the headline changes are more capacity into Rome (FCO) and Paris (CDG).

Originally, Qantas scheduled its seasonal B787-9-operated Perth – Rome round-trips to run three to four times per week between early May and late September.

Now, between May 18 and July 26, they will operate daily. Selected services, which operate as QF5/6, will start and end in Sydney (SYD) and fly via Perth (PER).

Qantas planned to operate the year-round B787-9 operated Sydney (SYD) – Perth – Paris (CDG) – Perth – Sydney flights, QF33/34, thrice-weekly. Now, between mid-April and mid-May, these round-trips will tick up to four per week.

Between May 18 and July 26, frequencies will increase to five per week. Based on the existing air services agreement, Qantas can operate up to six B787-9s per week into Paris

However, Qantas is temporarily dropping the QF33/34 Perth stopover in favour of Singapore. As with the non-stop Perth – London flights, the services are diverting around the Gulf region and the extra distance necessitates a fuel stop.

The existing daily QF1/2 Sydney – Singapore – London – Singapore – Sydney A380-800 operated flights are continuing as normal. But Qantas will increase the number of Perth – Singapore round-trips from seven to ten per week to allow Perth-based passengers to connect to and from the Paris flights in Singapore.

Currently, these changes are temporary, running from mid-April through to the end of July.

Qantas trims frequencies on three routes to the Americas

These additional flights, all operated by B787-9s, require extra aircraft. 

Qantas is sourcing those by trimming frequencies on the Sydney – Vancouver (YVR), Sydney – Santiago (SCL), and Melbourne (MEL) – Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) city-pairs. These routes, all operated by the B787-9, will reduce to thrice-weekly over the period.

Additionally, Qantas will take the B787-9 off its six weekly round-trips between Brisbane (BNE) and Los Angeles (LAX), swapping in an A330-200.

A330s also crop up on some domestic routes, primarily Melbourne – Perth and Sydney – Perth. Those routes will lose some of their A330 flights in favour of B737-800s. These reductions will allow the A330 to cover the Brisbane – Los Angeles route.

These network adjustments are part of a suite of measures implemented by Qantas in response to the Iranian war and its knock-on effects.

Earlier this month, the airline said it would increase fares on international routes, blaming rising fuel prices.

Hudson says the airline’s day-to-day fuel supplies are secure until at least mid-April and Qantas has hedged over 80% of its crude oil needs through to the end of June but that doesn’t include refining costs, which are volatile.

However, with the Gulf conflict showing no signs of abating, airlines like Qantas are preparing for it to drag on and planning accordingly.

Photo: Qantas.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com