Qantas upgrades Sydney-San Francisco to Boeing 787

Premium Economy passengers may be a bit ambivalent also.

Economy passengers lose 0.3inches of width, but gain 1 inch in pitch, as well as get a newer seat, plus the Dreamliner's cabin humidity benefits and lower noise etc.

I think the issue is that passengers literally rub shoulders (it's not just about fat people). Another common complaint for the 787 seating (sans JAL) is that the aisles are also narrower, leading to constant bumps from fellow travellers.

Article headline is a misnomer. The narrow footwells and claustrophobic cabin not necessarily an upgrade. The continually declining on board service will also be the same. Downgrade for the vast majority of pax. Reduced capacity will result in increased ticket prices. Probably good for shareholders but not for passengers.

Frequency doesn't change.

It's just been announced this morning, I'm sure the booking system will soon be updated to reflect this.

Quite so, our focus was more on the seat than the cabin – we don't have any suitable images of the 747's updated business class cabin, but yes, that middle seat on the main deck, grrrr! 5B and 5J are definitely the seats to get! [https://www.executivetraveller.com/here-is-the-best-business-class-seat-on-a-qantas-boeing-747]

The AusBT 'best seats' pieces have improved my flying experience enormously (likely how I 'discovered' 5J in the first place) - I'm very grateful for the insights they provide.

The second delivery group were always promoted as direct 747 replacements. So I’m sure the next one to go will be SCL.

I've always found it strange that Qantas calls the 787 a 747 replacement when a one-for-one swap sees such a huge reduction in capacity.

There won't be any new routes ex-PER until the terminal usage dispute is settled.

The SkyBed II has more space per passenger in terms of legroom and the room around your 'pod' but that is it's only positive attribute. No direct aisle access, so anybody in the pair of window seats has to step past their seatmate (or hop over them, if they're sleeping) or be the person who is stepped past/hopped over; no space at or around the seat for keeping laptop, tablet, smartphone, reading material, documents, amenity kit etc close at hand; a middle seat in business class on the 747's main deck; a video screen that's small and has poor contrast & visibility; seats which often sag in flatbed mode... in other words, plenty of reasons why the Business Suite is superior. I love the SkyBed II's space around my legs and feet and in front of the seat, don't get me wrong, but in my mind (and I'd suggest, in the mind of most business travellers) this is far outweighed by all those other drawbacks.

Agree to a point. The quality of the TV screen shouldnt refelct on the seat itself.

In some ways you’re right David, there are issues with the Skybed but as a larger person the new business suite really is cramped. It’s not alone in that, many business class cabins are now but the Qantas one seems more so than most and oddly to me it feels more so when seated on the aisle because there isn’t the luxury of space between you and foot traffic.

In that respecf it's not dissimilar to Ozm - LHR where QF used to fly 2 x A380s daily each way, but now with QF1/2/9/10 there's one A380 and one B789 each way daily, representing about a 25 per cent reduction in capacity for this supposed fantastic airline. It's probably chasing yield not seat capacity, but this still points to its inability to fill two A380s each way at what it considers sufficiently high fares.

If we had any news on Qantas' plans for Santiago we'd have published it.

I appreciate it, David, and look forward to hearing more as concrete news become available! My comment was based on overhearing a conversation between a Qantas steward and a QF Gold sitting in front of me when flying SCL-SYD in January. The steward was adamant that the 747 would be replaced by year-end if not before.

CASA does not have to approve LATAM's aircraft, as they are not Australian registered. CASA does have to approve QF's aircraft on the route - and CASA has not as yet given ETOPS approval for SCL.

I think you'll find that under the current EDTO process, that CASA is required to provide approval to such operations from foreign operators. It is an ICAO 'courtesy' requirement and acknowledgement of ICAO compliance..

Note however, that this did not require previous CASA approval for LATAM's SCL-AKL-SYD v.v. flights for the reason that ETOPs / EDTO was granted by New Zealand. SCL-MEL and SCL-SYD non-stop (and v.v.) was, and is, a different matter.

I have never heard of a 787-ER. Nor is there any information on Wikipedia. Can you provide any further information?

ETOPS has become EDTO.

United is also starting flights between MEL and SFO, so time will tell.

Qantas doesn't have a350s on order and don't plan to do so. At most, an a380 to JNB but doubt they'd put so much capacity there.

Not sure QF doesn’t plan to have A350s on order. They are currently mulling over such an option for their New York and London Sydney direct flights. They could also use them A350-1000 on JNB as well.

The problem isn’t the ETOPS rating of the aircraft rather that CASA doesn’t recognise the higher limits. Though I believe they now recognise ETOPS 240 which would have helped Virgin Aus when they were operating the 777 to JNB.

I suspect CASA hasn't endorsed higher because Qantas hasn't requested it.

With twin-engine jets becoming the norm,they will be forced to approve, since the alternative is to allow foreign airlines running an identical route a clear advantage, which won't go down well with the government or the public.

I just posted a similar comment before reading Yours!

I fly the UA 787 and prefer it immensely to the QF747. No comparison in terms of noise, comfort and wellbeing. Pumped for the new Polaris seat too, hopefully 2020. Polaris Lounge in SFO also amazing.

As an economy passenger, the QF 747 is far superior despite its age. United's food is appalling, their blankets are little more than a paper towel, and I always feel like walking on board a United flight is like walking into the midwest. Undoubtedly the Polaris experience is quite a different story.

…...or to HNL. I think it's a very safe bet that the final QF 747 flight will be SYD-HNL-SFO - a reversal of the very first flight 50 years earlier.

Or they can just swap that days flight from a 787 to 747.

Couldn't agree more. If I had choice between 787 vs 747 on any route I'd take the 787 every time. There is a genuine wellbeing benefit on the long haul.