Qantas quizzer: will you fly to London via Dubai or Perth?

I note your calculation is in a 3 hour layover in Perth for Sydney passengers. For Melbourne passengers it will be half that (so not 25.5 hours more like 22.5) and QF could retime the Sydney flight by an hour or so.  It will depend on loads and demand. For Canberra there is a nice connection coming back but not going. So I will give it a try coming back and with following winds less time in the air. Note the Dallas flight often spends 17 plus hours in the air against the wind.

I'm Melbourne based, will definitely give Perth a try but my initial impression is that I will probably use it more for the return LHR-PER-MEL. I prefer flying out in the evenings and getting to London/Europe in the afternoon.

That iPod and Filofax tell the whole Skybed story. 

I'm probably going to fly direct, seeing as I live in Perth. 

Whilst I agree the transit process in Sydney is a bit of a hassle I do have to say that Qantas have tried to make it as easy as possible.

For MEL-based travellers to LHR who enjoy using their points to upgrade from either Y to J or J to F, the changes are an enormous disappointment. 

For Y to J upgrades, there is now far fewer J seats available to LHR, which means they will be even harder to come by. Not only is there a greater risk of not getting the upgrade, but there is also a greater disincentive if that occurs -- 17+ hours in Y without a break.

For J to F upgrades, there is now far fewer F seats available to LHR and they are only available with the addition of a stop (SYD) and an unappealing DOM-INT transfer.

To answer the question posed by the article: I will be burning through my QF points then switching to SQ.

Being Sydney based, Perth no way. Miss out on SYD F lounge and A380 super inflight experience. Sorry but even the 787 doesn't provide same levels of comfort. When the new J class is installed in the A380's this is even more of a no brainer.

I'm very tempted to fly MEL-SYD-DXB-LHR (in at least one direction) to still get the A380 experience and pocket more SCs I think than MEL-PER-LHR. The A380 is fine and if you don't like the seats a refurb would fix that.

Hoping now that the estimate of direct London flights from the East Coast in 2022 is actually accurate. I expect it'll be some more years away than that though but we'll see.

Not from Brisbane I won't be. Too long to travel, better lounges going via HKG or SIN. Have some downtime in a nice lounge before continuing to LHR. 

Unless I have business in Perth or a pair of return business/premium economy tickets fall magically into my hands I'm sticking with my Singapore stopover.  As comfortable as the dreamliner is made to be, 17+ hours in 17.2 inch width economy seats with only 32inch seat pitch = literal hell + increased risk in DVT

For the price conscious company, definitely not via PER at the current prices for J.

Wait for it, 2019 will see super cheap discounted seats Perth to London on QF after the fan fair is gone. VA has got the right idea doing Melbourne - Hong Kong - London. If I booked my wife on Perth - London I wouldn't get there in one piece.

Book a trip in March/April 2018 to Europe. Heading over on the new service SYD-MEL-PER-LHR but coming back via DXB to warm up DUB-DXB-SYD

I would much prefer the A380 however hate the timing of QF1/2 so unless that changes I guess I'll go via PER!

It has to be said that the much talked about DXB EK Lounge is an absolute bunfight. Every time I've used it, latest time 2 weeks ago, my wife and I struggled to get a seat and usually it's a fair way from food etc. I would gladly miss it and the overall madness at DXB. Bring on the direct LHR services ex Perth I reckon. 

As ever, in all this Qantas remains Sydney Airlines, but on another topic, after much flying internationally on both B787 and A380 I find all the hype attached to the 787 complete nonsense. Maybe it's the quality of Boeing's PR efforts or they serve stronger Kool-Aid, but to me at least the endless uncritical praise of the 787 ignores the fact that the A380 is streets ahead in comfort, amenity, quietness and a general feeling of substance. Older seats and all, given a choice between them I would go A380 every time. 

The only reasonable MEL options are simple:
SQ MEL-SIN-LHR
or
TG MEL-BKK-LHR
Multiple flights daily.

What's more, there are currently 28 First seats each day from Australia to Heathrow.  Next year it'll be only 14 on QF1, and when they refurbish the A380s it'll apparently be down to 12.

If MEL to LHR via PER can 

What is the LHR-PER-MEL timetable.

787 is there and abouts same same size as A330, and I wouldn't choose that from Sydney to London via Perth in a pink fit, no matter where I was sitting. 

I changed from SQ to QF a few years ago but this change will see this Melbourne based F flyer rush back to SQ - all is forgiven!  Points are not an issue, but comfort and flexibility is.

I will do BNE-MEL-PER-LHR next year to give it a go.

How reliable are flights via Perth going to be? What happens when Perth  is closed due weather? It is notorious  for fog and storms! Nearest  diversion is Learmonth over 500 miles away! Can qantas 787 fly London  to Perth, hold for a while , and divert to Learmonth.  Diversion  would screw up schedules  massively as only timetabled for 90 minute turnarounds in Perth  and Melbourne  before flying to LAX. I can see many of these flights running  late with London  to Perth  having to divert enroute for fuel. How will Perth's extreme summer  temps affect performance  on flight to London? Reliability is going to be a major factor in choosing flights!

So many OW options from Melbourne, days of QF flying to the club to LHR are done. 

Qantas has some stiff competition esp the middle eastern carriers so I can understand Joyce's looking outside the box to remain in the game.  I'd love to fly the roo, but as a BNE local for me, the Perth option is a non starter.  EK via DXB until tempted elsewhere.

The need to fly the domestic leg from SYD to PER makes it a far less attractive option for SYD based travellers, particularly on the longer, outbound leg. As a major hub there is no need for SYD based travellers to have to connect. QF1 of the EK code shares for me!

So I don't fly to London but do LAX-Melbourne regularly.  So some December it'll be a straight option, 787 or 380.  For me 380 every time albeit the seats are really Himalayan these days.  For all the hype a 787 is really not much different to a 777 to me.  Nothing especially to get excited about.

If I have to catch Qantas, I will go via Perth since Dubai is dangerous. 

No one in their right mind would go via Perth in economy. Business class however this is an interesting discussion. 

If in Business I would choose the 787, at least until the A380's seats are upgraded.

Would fly via Perth of course as I live in Perth, however often travel to Manchester and therefore have choice of Emirates, Qatar and Etihad. Don't want to change at Heathrow for U.K. Domestic.

While I do not fly in business, the 787 is a much nicer plane from a jet lag perspective - it has better cabin pressure and I believe it uses outside air as opposed to recycled.

My comments above were directed to aniljak..