TALKING POINT | This week sees the second anniversary of the Qantas and Emirates alliance – a partnership which represented a tectonic shift in aviation and reshaped the landscape for Australian travellers.
That historic hookup put Dubai at the centre of the Flying Kangaroo's international network, signalling an end to the familiar Singapore stopover en route to London.
Reader poll: what’s your preferred stopover city?
But it also did away with the time-consuming and expensive need to back-track from London into Europe on Qantas' previous joint venture partner British Airways.
The most trumpeted benefit of the Qantas-Emirates alliance was that it put scores of European destinations – including a half-dozen in the UK – just one stop away from Emirates' hub in Dubai.
“Together we are taking more people to more places, with Qantas customers now being able to access more than 70 Emirates destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa" says Qantas International CEO Gareth Evans.
The move also opened up all of Emirates' flights out of Australia to to Qantas loyalists, who can book those flights under a QF number to earn a full serve of Qantas frequent flyer points and status credits.
Flashing your Qantas Frequent Flyer card also affords entry into most Emirates lounges (depending on your status).
Two years down the track, we'd wager that almost every Australian Business Traveller reader has had the opportunity to fly on the Qantas-Emirates network.
So it's time to ask for your experiences under the Qantas-Emirates alliance, how you view the hookup and how it's changed your travel habits.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Oct 2013
Total posts 111
now an emriates convert - previously with the schlepp from ADL to SYD or MEL to get to LHR and then connect to CPH or drive up to Birmingham (my family home) was a royal pain - now 2 flights direct from ADL via dDXB and i am there to either of my 2 european cities - great choice of change by QF although loyalty has now swopped over to Emirates of course! - Business class great service and although not as good as QF and 2-3-2 making it a bit tighter in J i love the directness of flights which now wins over the time wasting of connections - brill!
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
30 Nov 2015
Total posts 729
Yes another convert here, always travel Business to Europe on Emirates, their superior service all the way from home pick up to check in, fast track clearance and fantastic Melbourne lounge to my favourite 9A Business seat, Emirates A380's are big luxurious aircraft, surpurbly thought out, makes the Red ones flying look committee designed, that signature bar at the rear of the upper deck is a supurb retreat, if i tire of my own seat I can spend hours down the back, and I just love all that burr walnut look, even down to the toilet seat. It has an atmosphere and service Qantas don't give. Punctuality is alway good.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 388
Bring back Singapore!!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Aug 2014
Total posts 501
We have to wait until the 787s but thats's still not decided.
03 Jan 2012
Total posts 96
From Perth. 2 things come to mind. USA connections mean either a 3am start to make the 530am flight to connect with any QF A380s out of Sydney; or taking the Red Eye which is probably a worse start to a long trip. Europe bound flights with Emirates do not offer lay-flat bed in Business out of Perth. Food is not so good as Qantas IMHO. Entertainment is proabably a little better. So overall, it's definatley a 2nd rate service for Perth QF frequent flyers. On the upside, Emirates flies to lots of destinations without the backtrack through London. Emirates First lounges in DBX are very good. Emirates lounge in Perth is naff. Would have been better to keep Singapore Hub and hook up a deal with Singapore Airlines - which is a much better airline than Emirates. Now that would have been a value add proposition! Great hub, great airline, great destinations in Asia, Europe and USA, fantastic lounges, great business class product.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Mar 2015
Total posts 59
A380 out of perth soon...this month or next. Will be lay flat J
10 Nov 2014
Total posts 8
One thing that will probably go unnoticed is the continuation of the Emirates aircraft from the East Coast to NZ. Emirates has set a new benchmark on these smaller routes for other airlines to follow. Gone are the days of cheap no frills flights and the return of full service larger aircraft comfort.
Qantas - P1 Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2013
Total posts 45
I agree with all the positives mentioned: The direct flights to European destinations are a huge positive. I live in Adelaide, so this is especially true for me. That said, the one big negative is the lack of consistency in the business class seat that is offered. The 777-300 ER seat in Emirates is not up to scratch compared to the one on the A380. Hopefully, Emirates will upgrade the 777 seats at some stage.
30 Aug 2013
Total posts 437
EK have a very substandard J and Y product on their 777s which still make up the majority of their fleet, regardless of how many A380s they have on order. Im surprised the public trumpet them as the worlds best airline when there's such a huge product inconsistency
13 Dec 2012
Total posts 2
Have not been at all impressed. I fly PER-IAH and frankly with poor lounges and absurd flight times it's easier to fly other airlines. EK J Class is horribly overrated IMHO. Chauffer Drive service is patchy.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 439
Angle lie flat seats on the 777 with the service of J, but then a fully flat bed on the A380 with the service of Y since the entire upper deck is business. Just can't win!
30 Mar 2015
Total posts 14
Well I am now sitting on over 75% opups since the alliance whereas before it was less than 10% so I am a happy chappie.
12 Oct 2011
Total posts 23
Yes! This is a huge incentive for me to pick Emirates flights over Qantas flights even on routes that are also served by Qantas. I was sitting on 0% opups from Qantas internationally but now somewhere between 66-75% on Emirates flights.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Mar 2014
Total posts 567
From a network perspective, it's definitely a good thing. Imagine Qantas' scaleback had they kept with the BA arrangement? Or would it had forced them to stay in unprofitable routes which would have almost certainly broken the back.
This network is exactly, wholly and solely the reson I use Qantas. If Virgin had a real international network, I'd be a staunch VA loyalist. Instead, I have to play airline polygomy!
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 206
If the alliance was such a great idea, why is QF's international market share still declining? From a PER perspective, the absence of QF has meant that other airlines have stepped in to offer better services for less cost. And this won't change when EK run a 380 there.
Qantas
19 Apr 2012
Total posts 1429
QF's international market is not falling it is just that its share is due to many more entrants when the dollar was high. I suspect that not only will the market rise but so will the share. Interesting that QF stil offer BA backtracks sometimes at a lower price
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1031
Nope. Never been on an EK operated flight and likely won't unless they join oneworld.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Apr 2015
Total posts 5
Personally didn't mind the Singapore stopover but I must say this partnership is among the finer things Qantas has achieved.
25 Jul 2011
Total posts 12
I mainly fly domestic for business. Europe only once a year (econ unfortunately). Out of BNE there is no choice if you want a QF flight number. Emirates all the way. At least we have the A380 though right.
First experience with Emirates was 2014 trip. Pre-boarding exemplary. Emirates BNE lounge superb. Sumptuous buffet, bottomless Veuve, direct boarding. Streets ahead of the QF 'waiting room' at BNE.
Inflight econ service pretty standard. Gluten free meal options ordinary but I am use to that and usually cater for myself. DBX airport terrible. Over an hour to be bused to terminal from miles away. Apparently this is pretty standard. Business lounge basically a big cafeteria, no chance of a shower unless you are prepared to sit in line. Hoards of people.
What you gain from the benefits of direct Emirates European destinations you lose in ordinary flight connections. Arrived ARN for day flight back to BNE via DBX. Not allocated seat I selected online. Told at check-in to check with lounge staff. Told by lounge staff to check with gate staff. Told by FA responsible for high status FFs sorry she was not aware of me being on the flight. Anyway she said that seat selections are not guaranteed on QF code shares (even for gold and platinum). Flight full no chance of seat change. Very appologetic. That is where my gold FF service stopped. Never saw her again.
Elected stop over in DBX due to no chance of direct connection to BNE. Wish I had chosen the flight to BNE via SIN on 777 instead. Or to go via LHR. It's not that bad in transit and at least you get a break from travel.
So now SQ is my airline of choice to Europe. Previous experience indicates that great expectations usually met. Due to my unrelenting need for FF uniformity have now swapped to VA for all domestic business travel. Such a shame. I love QF. Looking forward to coming back soon.
Emirates deal is probably good for QF, unfortunately not for me.
21 Jul 2012
Total posts 128
The Middle East shift was a brilliant (and necessary) move. I'll give AJ credit for that. Anyone pretending it would be possible to run a viable business through Asia instead is dreaming. Yes, Cathay and Singapore are great airlines, but they just don't have the same European/African/Near Eastern route network as the ME3, so you don't get the same benefits.
The mistake AJ made was choosing Emirates as a partner, when Qatar would have been a more logical choice. The QF-EK alliance always seems very one-sided to me, whereas a QF-QR match would have been a marriage of equals producing real benefits to both. For instance:
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1031
We can always wait for the ACCC to either pull the EK deal early or not renew it, thereby allowing a BA/QR/QF tieup.
I wish they would link the AA/JL and AA/QF transpac tieups.
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