Qantas' non-stop Perth-London flights to go on sale this week

The MEL/PER/LHR flight will become the new QF9/10. 

Qantas needs to add another toilet for business and add an extra 2-3 inches of pitch to PE. 

After just spending only 6 hours in a 9 across 787 economy cabin, I shudder to think what this would be like for 17.5 hours. Flying from Perth is a great initiative by Qantas, but for economy passengers (even with an extra inch of legroom) I think this will be too bone-crushingly extreme. I'll continue to take the A380 from SYD.

I've a read a few times now that keeping the QF A380 QF9/10 MEL/DXB/LHR as well as the new 787 MEL/PER/LHR will be too much capacity on that route, it's doubling up and that makes sense, the basic maths add up. So why would EK then deploy their A380 back onto it.....it's that just doubling it back up again?

I know they will may say it originates in Melbourne but it may actaully originate in LA and carry LA-Perth passengers on a one stop flight (or it may instead connect with the A380), and so either way avoid the issue of domestic passengers on an international flight. As for the time it may be up to 17 hours but having just done a quick Syd-DFW of just on 15 hours (getting in half an hour early) and LHR only slightly further, the 17 hour flights will be the in-bound, and probably not 17 hours most of the time.

I really hope they keep MEL-DXB-LHR or better yet do MEL-HKG-LHR or MEL-SIN-LHR on the QF A380.

Would be nice to have the option to go on QF metal from MEL stopping somewhere a bit closer to LHR than PER along the way.

Qantas stop  cannibalizing Business Class toilets - what are you thinking? If one goes unserviceable It's not a premium situation. A380, A330 now the 787! What gives, honestly?

Mviy just think coming back you will be that bit closer to Melbourne. I alway like short leg and a long leg (or vice versa) rather then two longish legs. I doubt they will increase capacity to the UK. The A380s will be used in slot constrained airports in Asia. 

I actually enjoy a stop over, getting out of a plane for a couple of hours or even 1 or 2 days. I would change my mind if the price was right and / or it really reduced the flying time.

I'm hoping if this replaces QF9/10, that the A380 still serves MEL in that direction to allow us to avoid LHR and SYD when flying QF to the rest of Europe. A flight to DXB, SIN or HKG would be ideal. Likely that we'll need to wait for the refurb program to finish for this though. 

It is hard to compare this service to the current QF9/10 service. Surely the expectation is that Adelaide, (maybe) Brisbane, Darwin and (of course) Perth based people will fly to Perth to connect with this service rather than going to Melbourne or Sydney to commence their journey. 

A 12-hr SYD-PEK direct flight has been already too much to me and a stop over at SIN can make it much much more bearable. I cannot image what happens in the last 7 hours on a PER-LHR flight -- maybe consulting the map 1000 times to see how far LHR is.

There's also the potential for QF9/10 to shift to a non-daily timetable. Eradicating it with current QF1/2 timeslots will mean an A380 spending a long time on the ground at LHR so perhaps the timing of those flights will also change! QF will lose a lot of MEL traffic if the traditional QF9/10 is gone completely, there are simpler options that facilitate one stop trips to non-LHR locations in Europe. I've got everything crossed for an A380 ex-MEL route to Europe. I don't mind if its via DXB, SIN or HKG so much or where it ends up so long as it exists!

The Qf9/10 A380 could fly to another city in europe instead perhaps 

I hope they don't disband the MEL/LHR service. If they hand it over the EK and they can make a go of it then why couldn't QF make a go of it? Not sure how it can be said that if QF hold it, it is over capacity.

Crosscourt they are not disbanding MEL/LHR, it will go via Perth. For all its history ithis flight has changed stopover points for various reasons. In this case going via Perth makes sense. 

Qantas should really buy and use the A350 for this route- a much better Aircraft with more room and the quietest.

Qantas really lost al of the attractive points of this plane as soon as they stuffed up each class

Noticed QF95 changes from 1325 to 2240 departure on March 25.  Guessing this is to support aircraft change over with the MEL-PER-LHR service.

Introductory pricing is going to be very interesting - it coincides roughly with QFs annual premium companion sale so we will hopefully see some good A380 deals as well as for this route. I don't know many people who DON'T want QF9/10 A380 route to stay in some form or another; if they scrap it, they'll lose a lot of business ex-MEL even with this new routing.

Time will tell if this route is successful. I anticipate yield will be sub-par.

Qantas business seat/bed whilst new is a decade behind the latest offerings of most major airlines. The bed/ seat offfering will factor greatly in decisions which option to london.

If you search late March Mel to LHR, it currently comes up with QF1 but no QF9. Oh dear. 

LHR - MEL for 21.3 - 2.4.18 is currently priced at £1324, which must be due to school holidays and Easter

If they start a connecting HBA-PER flight I'll be very interested. The PER-LHR flight has a lot of potential to add one-stop flights to Europe from cities which can't support widebody aircraft to the Asian and Middle Eastern hubs.

17.5 hours is too long even in business. I flew QF8 DFW - SYD in J and was more than ready to get off half way home.

The poll is misleading.  Why does the travel have to be via SYD or MEL?  What about using Emirates from BNE, ADL, via DXD too?

I wonder what/if Qantas Chauffeur Drive options will be available...

It makes sense to encourage people from elsewhere in Australia to fly from a hub other than SYD/MEL .

@jM "Even though the A380 economy seats are narrower/closer together?"

Interpreting the "/" as meaning OR then perhaps. In other words David Caon has made the B787 economy seat backs thinner (and most likely harder) thus enabling the claimed extra 1" pitch between rows so with "OR" then yes this is perhaps the case.

Claiming that the 9 across seats on a B787 are narrower than on a 10 across A380 though is just plain false.

The comment as presented though does reflect how successful the Qantas PR (as taken up by David and other Qantas sponsored writers) was in deflecting attention from the narrowing of seats by the "look over there" reference to a supposed extra 1" of legroom.

Unfortunately David Caon hasn't worked out how to make passengers thinner across the beam and the seats will be considerably narrower than on the Qantas A380, although perhaps not such a squeeze as on 10 across B777s.

Seatguru seems to suggest 17" on a 10 across B777, 17.3" on a 9 across B787 and 17.5" on 10 across B747s and A380s. So the B787 will be a little better than the 10 across B777s but only just, and worse than the B747.

By contrast the A380 economy seat has always seemed wider than the B747. Just to check I took a tape measure on my last trip (on an A380) and the economy seat squab from join to join was near 20" and from inner arm rest to inner arm rest it was 18.3".

This interest in getting to the bottom of the matter came after I spent fifteen hours from YVR-SYD on Air Canada's B777 sitting next to a thin guy. I'm pretty average yet we pressed each other's flesh along the length of of the upper arm (elbow to shoulder) and upper thigh (knee to hip). One tends to sit very still to minimize the feeling of intimate contact. It was a very severe downgrading of amenity compared with how the B777 was when it was 9 across, typified by a young woman girl in the row behind the lavatory having paid extra for legroom but the big guy next to her was resting his arms on her chest, and edge of her breast.

Does anyone know when this week?

How many hours will Melbourne-Perth-London actually save compared to Melbourne-Dubai-London?

Does anyone know what will happen to the A380 the 787 will replace? 

Much speculation and gripes on the board about this. How about we try it first? I would not be unhappy about a change in Perth and getting off in London. As for the length of the flight I think you will find it to be a bit more than QF8 which is a regular run for me. DFW to Syd is around 16 hours and so tack on an extra hour to that. Infrequent flyers would be hesitant. More regular ones can take it in thier stride. Non stop from Australia to Europe is a big deal so lets applaud rather than tear into QF. 

Fantastic that Western Australia is going to get a Qantas flight to Europe, let alone a non stop flight.  I suspect though that in economy the lack of elbow room and 9 across seating instead of 8 is going to lead to unwanted publicity that will blight the service.  Roomier A350 would be an improvement.  Or a A380 if Airbus got their act into order and got on with NEO and weight paring to get the non-stop range

Even full the 787 will only carry 236 passengers each way from PER to LHR and back. If, say, 150 of those passengers actually originate or return to MEL, that's less than 1000 passengers per week (assuming 3 return services). 

As much as think Joyce had oversold his new plane ( hello not at all revolutionary PE )  it a major milestone that we have a commercial non stop flight to LHR.  Qantas should be applauded for their boldness.  That said I look forward to seeing how the pricing breaks down, you can certainly charge a premium in J for the benefit of getting their in the shortest possible time ( even though it may only save an hour ).  But I'm not so sure on Y,  while the novelty value will be there initially.  Is there enough load from non east coast cities that would want to sit in economy for that long to save not that much time?  Personally I like a stop over these days to break it up, and if my company is paying it will only be an option if its the cheapest one. 

I am in Brisbane and would consider the Brisbane-Perth-London option only if I could get an A330 on the Brisbane-Perth leg otherwise my choice would be Emirates via Dubai on an A380, plus via Dubai there are so many other European options if London isn't your ultimate destination.

Travelling economy for 20 hours is not my idea of a comfortable trip. Whichever way you go you have to stop once why not do it near half way . No thanks,rather go via Singapore, Hong Kong or even Dubai.had a hell trip LDN-SIN as the 3 people in the seats in front on a Qantas 380 rolled there seats all the way back, and left them there until almost landing and of course to have a meal. I am 6 feet and that was hell I had to bend my body to fit and stay in 1 position most of the flight. I know Qantas have given you an extra inch in this plane but 20 hours?

As a small business owner, 17.5 hours of being disconnected from the internet is too long.  

I must admit that I'm not at all enthused about this option as a route to London now that the details have been released. I had very high hopes when it was first announced as it could have been a viable option to do my regular RTW trips almost entirely on QF metal.  The pax-to-toilet ratio in J on the B787 is just awful, not that its much better in the Boarding School Dormitory (aka the A380 J cabin).  This will be one of the most dearly missed aspects of the upper deck on the B747.  Unless they have made some major improvements to the "new" Business Suite for the B787 its not a place I'd want to spend 17.5 uninterrupted hours. Its a comfortable seat/bed, that's for sure, but with size 13.5 feet there's not a lot of foot space at the end of the bed and you do need to be bit of a contortionist to get in and out of the seat when its in bed mode if you're in one of the seats with the side console between the seat and the aisle.  If this service comes with a premium over the established routes via DXB, then for the money and time, First on the A380 via DXB will be a better option, especially with a 1:7 toilet-to-pax ratio!

Is the A350 such a silly option? Will Qantas go for it in lieu of cancelled A380's? Airbus make quieter planes and much more passenger friendly-always have. I know for the fact the A380 was "over soundproofed" which makes it a delight to fly in. I found the 787 did not live upon to all the hype from a pax perspective so if Airbus have done their homework I think A380/A350 are the way to go for QF international.(from a pax perspective of course). 

Will still do QF/EK on the A380 from Sydney, then doing the 787 via Perth. Why?? Space/Room to Move, Bar, wifi, More Toilets, First Class Lounge, Service, Limousine, 560 Status Credits (instead of 480 via Perth). Alternatively Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Qatar as well.