QF744ER wrote:

Completely hypothetically speaking and just thinking outside the box, everyone seems to be assuming that it would be Dreamliners operating the mentioned/proposed PER-CDG flight, why could it not be a 744ER? Could QF possibly free-up some ER's with the conversion of some US flights ex BNE to Dreamliners?

Also as I mentioned on another thread earlier in the week QF9 PER-LHR on the B789 is payload restricted west-bound and approx 40 seats will requiring blocking.

I could be wrong but think I’ve seen QF want daily flights to CDG, the AU France bilateral is seat based - a daily 744 is too much capacity and breaches this allotment one reason why even via Asia QF couldn’t go daily.

40seats seems huge to me! Must be a real premium! But I’m sure they know what they’re doing!

First I’ve heard of this, 40 seats that’s huge, there is only 166 seats in economy to begin with, I can’t see how that would be profit making. Any cargo?

Why did OQD need a gear change? Was it the entire gear or part of?

QF744ER wrote:

Completely hypothetically speaking and just thinking outside the box, everyone seems to be assuming that it would be Dreamliners operating the mentioned/proposed PER-CDG flight, why could it not be a 744ER? Could QF possibly free-up some ER's with the conversion of some US flights ex BNE to Dreamliners?

A 747 flying to/from Perth? I wish!

smi0006 wrote:

I could be wrong but think I’ve seen QF want daily flights to CDG, the AU France bilateral is seat based - a daily 744 is too much capacity and breaches this allotment one reason why even via Asia QF couldn’t go daily.

Correct. A big part of why CDG was dropped mid 2000s was with the 744 they were limited to 3 weekly by the bilateral. I believe they can go up to 6 weekly with their 789 configuration despite it being the same bilateral.

I wish QF all the very best success with this whole PER-LHR scenario, but one thing left me wondering. QF and BA´s relationship has cooled somewhat over the years (especially considering the QF/EK angle and the IAG/QR scenario). How solid is this market? I am in Perth, no doubt it is a very interesting market for the english, so I keep wondering - if this service really is the golden goose - why BA, who have had 789´s available for some time, have not seen the need to ´ride the QF Hype´ and spoil the party by starting such a service first? Will these nonstops really be that golden goose? Current pricing already has me wondering. Again, I don´t wish to spoil the party and surely hope it is a success (for personal reasons, I would hope of a QF return to FRA, if this is successful), but I am wondering just a little .........
Do BA perhaps feel the market is not as big as we are all expecting at this end?

cougar15 wrote:

I wish QF all the very best success with this whole PER-LHR scenario, but one thing left me wondering. QF and BA´s relationship has cooled somewhat over the years (especially considering the QF/EK angle and the IAG/QR scenario). How solid is this market? I am in Perth, no doubt it is a very interesting market for the english, so I keep wondering - if this service really is the golden goose - why BA, who have had 789´s available for some time, have not seen the need to ´ride the QF Hype´ and spoil the party by starting such a service first? Will these nonstops really be that golden goose? Current pricing already has me wondering. Again, I don´t wish to spoil the party and surely hope it is a success (for personal reasons, I would hope of a QF return to FRA, if this is successful), but I am wondering just a little .........
Do BA perhaps feel the market is not as big as we are all expecting at this end?

Now that you mention it I was going ask the question with QR launching a 2nd daily DOH-SYD service via CBR why doesn’t QR take over BA LHR-SIN-SYD service? This will free up 2.5-3 B77W’s at BA which I’ve read on another thread are running a very tight ship.

EK413

cougar15 wrote:

I wish QF all the very best success with this whole PER-LHR scenario, but one thing left me wondering. QF and BA´s relationship has cooled somewhat over the years (especially considering the QF/EK angle and the IAG/QR scenario). How solid is this market? I am in Perth, no doubt it is a very interesting market for the english, so I keep wondering - if this service really is the golden goose - why BA, who have had 789´s available for some time, have not seen the need to ´ride the QF Hype´ and spoil the party by starting such a service first? Will these nonstops really be that golden goose? Current pricing already has me wondering. Again, I don´t wish to spoil the party and surely hope it is a success (for personal reasons, I would hope of a QF return to FRA, if this is successful), but I am wondering just a little .........
Do BA perhaps feel the market is not as big as we are all expecting at this end?

QF is about connecting Australian passengers to the world. Australian corporates, especially the global ones, need to travel a lot. In Perth alone you’ve got BHP, Rio and Woodside all with significant high yielding traffic to the major centres of the world.

For BA it is different. Your average POM executive or tourist does not need to go to Australia to conduct business. Your average Australian executive does need to go to London, Singapore, New York and Hong Kong.

The plan is also to use Perth as a hub for the eastern states as well. The ability to fly to London without stopping in Dubai is very appealing to a lot of people. Frequent fliers have enjoyed the ability to connect with Emirates to everywhere in Europe but they have not liked connecting in Dubai. The switch to Perth and back to Singapore gives them what they want.

As for QF they do save a few dollars because they no longer need a DXB hub and have to pay landing fees (and get a380 engines changed because of sand). I doubt it’s a massive cost saving compared the extra fuel and crewjng of the Perth flight but it is a saving none the less.

smi0006 wrote:

40seats seems huge to me! Must be a real premium! But I’m sure they know what they’re doing!

jrfspa320 wrote:

First I’ve heard of this, 40 seats that’s huge, there is only 166 seats in economy to begin with, I can’t see how that would be profit making.

As previously said, there are no seats blocked off after the initial first few services.

EK413 wrote:

Now that you mention it I was going ask the question with QR launching a 2nd daily DOH-SYD service via CBR why doesn’t QR take over BA LHR-SIN-SYD service? This will free up 2.5-3 B77W’s at BA which I’ve read on another thread are running a very tight ship.
EK413

That is a very good observation and with QR holding a stake in BA I could see this happening, QR could no doubt do it with greater profitability and especially if they put an A380 onto the route to really boost the yield.

getluv wrote:

smi0006 wrote:

40seats seems huge to me! Must be a real premium! But I’m sure they know what they’re doing!

jrfspa320 wrote:

First I’ve heard of this, 40 seats that’s huge, there is only 166 seats in economy to begin with, I can’t see how that would be profit making.

As previously said, there are no seats blocked off after the initial first few services.

The first flight is the 24th of March?
I can tell you that going over to LHR economy is capped at 146 pax and there is only 24 seats left, Business and Premium are all full.
The return flight?
economy is capped at 164 and still has just under 40 seats available with only one Premium seat available

jman wrote:

getluv wrote:

smi0006 wrote:

40seats seems huge to me! Must be a real premium! But I’m sure they know what they’re doing!

jrfspa320 wrote:

First I’ve heard of this, 40 seats that’s huge, there is only 166 seats in economy to begin with, I can’t see how that would be profit making.

As previously said, there are no seats blocked off after the initial first few services.

The first flight is the 24th of March?
I can tell you that going over to LHR economy is capped at 146 pax and there is only 24 seats left, Business and Premium are all full.
The return flight?
economy is capped at 164 and still has just under 40 seats available with only one Premium seat available

We're talking blocked seats not loads.

kriskim wrote:

waoz1 wrote:

Virgin flight returned to Perth mid flight to Adelaide

Bad smell coming from the back of the airbus around 100 passengers onboard.

https://thewest.com.au/news/travel/virg ... b88770856z

Didn’t even realise that the A320’s were doing capital city flights you normally see mainline VA do!

A lot of PER-ADL/ADL-PER use VA Regional's fleet of A320's and Fokker 100's. Gives a bit of variety to the aircraft type at the northern end of ADL

CraigAnderson wrote:

So there's TWICE the security checks and queues for PER passengers on international QF flights now?

Here's what the GT article says. "Passengers for all Qantas international flights from March 24 will check in at T4, where most Qantas domestic passengers check-in for flights and then move to the usual domestic security. Once through that process they will make their way to the international wing which is located in the adjacent T4.
They will then proceed to international security and passport control and then into the international departures area."

Doesn't sound ideal, does it!

Also, had to raise an eyebrow at this line. "While there are two levels of security, that is expected to be offset by the more intimate and easier processing with typically far fewer passengers."

Besides being a bit apologist for QF and PER, I would never want to use the word "intimate" to describe airport security checks! LOL

ADL has the same.

General screening for all, then the extra screening for Internationals before they hit immigration

CraigAnderson wrote:

qf789 wrote:

Unruly QF passenger on a PER-BNE flight from July last year receives a $10,500 fine and is order to pay QF $15,207

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/ ... b88772791z

Excellent news. The courts need to keep coming down hard on these types of idiots. Hopefully he's also banned from QF and JQ flights, on top of being $25k out of pocket.

Banned from QF and VA.

Hope he likes the bus

So just having a little think about this PER-CDG rumour.

Aside from QF doing the "smile" route (LAX/SFO-MEL-PER-LHRvv) for efficiency using 4 frames, I was having a think about how CDG could go daily with only 2 frames, and still be somewhat attractive.
So, depending on what slots QF have at CDG, it is possible to do MEL-PER-CDG-PER-MEL and run daily with 2 frames (normal for Europe would be min. 3 frames)

MEL 0820-0930 PER 1100-1945 CDG 2145-2145+1 PER 2315 0550+1 (with 2.5hrs to restart the cycle back to PER on the 3rd day, allowing daily service
This would also be fed by the AM arrivals from SYD and ADL getting into PER between 7.30 and 8.30

Although every way I look at it with the current QF 789 commitments, they don;t have enough planes to do it.

BNE-LAX-JFK 2 planes
BNE-LAX 1 plane doing the extra 3pw
LAX/SFO-MEL-PER-LHR 4 planes

This leaves 1 plane unaccounted for ( but possibly linked to a BNE-ORD/DFW 4pw)
Also unknown is where the 744's that are staying on will be going.

Lets say the supplemental BNELAX services are picked up by the 744. A PER-CDG doesn't have to originate in the east it just has to rotate through BNE,MEL and LAX every so often
Which means you could have a 6pw PER-CDG independent PER 2040-0520+1CDG 1230-1230+1 PER which operates back to BNE one day every week, but there would also be flexibility for the inbound CDG-PER to operate PER-MEL to rotate through to LAX and back to BNE that way.

Looking forward to some form of announcement in the coming weeks; although I do believe that CDG won't happen until 2019 with the next batch of 789s.

I dont think QF is looking to put 744s on new routes. Right now they need 8 to run syd-sfo, syd-nrt, syd-jnb, and syd-scl, which is why they want to keep js, jt, and ju. The 789s have only freed up two frames, and QF only wants to keep them to help with Asia capacity.

CraigAnderson wrote:

EK413 wrote:

Now that you mention it I was going ask the question with QR launching a 2nd daily DOH-SYD service via CBR why doesn’t QR take over BA LHR-SIN-SYD service? This will free up 2.5-3 B77W’s at BA which I’ve read on another thread are running a very tight ship.
EK413

That is a very good observation and with QR holding a stake in BA I could see this happening, QR could no doubt do it with greater profitability and especially if they put an A380 onto the route to really boost the yield.

Certainly makes a lot of sense but I could be wrong. As you mention consolidate the flights with upgaugjng to 2 x daily A380’s.

EK413

Donghai Airlines to giveaway "1x SZX=DRW return ticket" in a lucky draw activity on its Chinese social network weibo account to celebrate the airlines' 4th anniversary. The weibo account have also posted information on tourist spot in area around Darwin before. However they still haven't announce when will they start flying the route.

HM7 wrote:

I dont think QF is looking to put 744s on new routes. Right now they need 8 to run syd-sfo, syd-nrt, syd-jnb, and syd-scl, which is why they want to keep js, jt, and ju. The 789s have only freed up two frames, and QF only wants to keep them to help with Asia capacity.

The only new route I can see the 744s going to is year-round SYD-YVR. I think that all the 744s will be SYD based for the rest of their lives.

CraigAnderson wrote:

'She felt the cabin floor drop': Qantas crew injured after autopilot cut out
https://www.smh.com.au/business/compani ... 4z4c3.html
"A Qantas flight attendant broke her leg and another suffered numerous injuries when their aircraft's autopilot unexpectedly disengaged as it descended into Canberra Airport last year. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation into the incident has found a modification made to the Boeing 737-8 meant the pilot's attempt to stop the aircraft going too fast inadvertently triggered an abrupt change in speed and angle."

Times like this I miss Ben Sandilands at Plane Talking, as grump as he was he would have been assiduously reporting this like a dog with a bone right from the start!

The part of this article that is annoying me is the 737-8. Where did the two zeros (or if we are being perfectionists, the 38) go?

EK413 wrote:

qf2220 wrote:

EK413 wrote:

•5th frame VHZNE 12th July 2018
•6th frame VHZNF 24th August 2018
•7th frame VHZNG 13th November 2018
•8th frame VHZNH 26th November 2018

EK413

What about the next 8? Theyre not yet locked in i know...

The allocations go as far as frame 820 then it’s unknown.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... /htmlview#

EK413

Ok thanks.

qantas747 wrote:

So just having a little think about this PER-CDG rumour.

Aside from QF doing the "smile" route (LAX/SFO-MEL-PER-LHRvv) .....

Looking forward to some form of announcement in the coming weeks; although I do believe that CDG won't happen until 2019 with the next batch of 789s.

Whats not to say they might not make a second 'smile' route. Say ORD-SYD-PER-CDG v/v? The limiting factor is airframes, and we know that QF has the ability to exercise them. When would be the latest that QF would need to confirm delivery slots to allow this route to be operating in the September time frame that has been suggested in the French article?

The Australia/France bilateral permits a total of 3.0 units of capacity between Australia and France itself (the same bilateral also covers New Caledonia and French Polynesia as Routes 2 and 3). There is an aircraft substitution formula for interpreting the 3.0 units of capacity which, as someone already mentioned, is seat-based. There is also provision for excess capacity of up to 0.25 units of capacity (i.e. a total of 3.25) if the application of the formula "will result in the total capacity entitlements for the designated airlines of Australia being exceeded." The bilateral treaty and the register of available capacity (which should always be read together with the relevant air services agreement / MoU) are available in the International Aviation section of http://www.infrastructure.gov.au.

A Qantas B789, at 236 seats, equals 0.5 units of capacity, therefore a total of 6x weekly services with that type would be permissible under the bilateral.

Using only B744s VH-OJM & -OEB, which have 353 seats and are equal to 0.8 units of capacity, 4x weekly services would be possible. All of the remaining B744s (with 364 seats) are equal to 0.9 units of capacity and would therefore only permit 3x weekly services. With an aircraft the likes of the B789 in the fleet, it makes absolutely no sense to go after CDG with the B744s.

However, I understand that Australia and France negotiated what's known as extra-bilateral rights last year, which reportedly would allow QF to operate daily with the B789 (in fact, from memory, I believe QF made some kind of announcement to that effect, including naming the B789 as the relevant aircraft). Now, we know that all 8 of the first batch of B789s are spoken for, so presumably CDG is intended to be among the routes that QF would announce with the arrival of numbers 9 and onwards.

c933103 wrote:

Donghai Airlines to giveaway "1x SZX=DRW return ticket" in a lucky draw activity on its Chinese social network weibo account to celebrate the airlines' 4th anniversary. The weibo account have also posted information on tourist spot in area around Darwin before. However they still haven't announce when will they start flying the route.

Expect Donghai Airlines to start SZX-DRW by late April with services on Wednesday and Sunday. Aircraft is 737-800 (73H)

DeltaB717 wrote:

Using only B744s VH-OJM & -OEB, which have 353 seats and are equal to 0.8 units of capacity, 4x weekly services would be possible. All of the remaining B744s (with 364 seats) are equal to 0.9 units of capacity and would therefore only permit 3x weekly services. With an aircraft the likes of the B789 in the fleet, it makes absolutely no sense to go after CDG with the B744s.

4 weekly would be hard to maintain considering OJM was retired from the fleet last year

qf789 wrote:

DeltaB717 wrote:

Using only B744s VH-OJM & -OEB, which have 353 seats and are equal to 0.8 units of capacity, 4x weekly services would be possible. All of the remaining B744s (with 364 seats) are equal to 0.9 units of capacity and would therefore only permit 3x weekly services. With an aircraft the likes of the B789 in the fleet, it makes absolutely no sense to go after CDG with the B744s.

4 weekly would be hard to maintain considering OJM was retired from the fleet last year

So it was... my mistake, was reading off the seat map on QF's website

a36001 wrote:

Why did OQD need a gear change? Was it the entire gear or part of?

Manufacture requirement & -OQD having operated more cycles was the right candidate. Entire gear.

EK413

qantas747 wrote:

So just having a little think about this PER-CDG rumour.

Aside from QF doing the "smile" route (LAX/SFO-MEL-PER-LHRvv) for efficiency using 4 frames, I was having a think about how CDG could go daily with only 2 frames, and still be somewhat attractive.
So, depending on what slots QF have at CDG, it is possible to do MEL-PER-CDG-PER-MEL and run daily with 2 frames (normal for Europe would be min. 3 frames)

MEL 0820-0930 PER 1100-1945 CDG 2145-2145+1 PER 2315 0550+1 (with 2.5hrs to restart the cycle back to PER on the 3rd day, allowing daily service
This would also be fed by the AM arrivals from SYD and ADL getting into PER between 7.30 and 8.30

Although every way I look at it with the current QF 789 commitments, they don;t have enough planes to do it.

BNE-LAX-JFK 2 planes
BNE-LAX 1 plane doing the extra 3pw
LAX/SFO-MEL-PER-LHR 4 planes

This leaves 1 plane unaccounted for ( but possibly linked to a BNE-ORD/DFW 4pw)
Also unknown is where the 744's that are staying on will be going.

Lets say the supplemental BNELAX services are picked up by the 744. A PER-CDG doesn't have to originate in the east it just has to rotate through BNE,MEL and LAX every so often
Which means you could have a 6pw PER-CDG independent PER 2040-0520+1CDG 1230-1230+1 PER which operates back to BNE one day every week, but there would also be flexibility for the inbound CDG-PER to operate PER-MEL to rotate through to LAX and back to BNE that way.

Looking forward to some form of announcement in the coming weeks; although I do believe that CDG won't happen until 2019 with the next batch of 789s.

Any future European flight whether it be BNE-PER-CDG or SYD-PER-FRA will be timed similar to MEL-PER-LHR. This is the whole idea of developing a mini hub in PER. All the flights will arrive and depart PER at similar times. As proposed above those travelling on MEL-PER will not only feed LHR but also CDG and FRA, likewise the flights from SYD & BNE. There are 3 swing gates now in T3 so the airport will be able to accomodate not only a PER-LHR but a PER-CDG and PER-FRA at the same time

qf789 wrote:

Any future European flight whether it be BNE-PER-CDG or SYD-PER-FRA will be timed similar to MEL-PER-LHR. This is the whole idea of developing a mini hub in PER. All the flights will arrive and depart PER at similar times. As proposed above those travelling on MEL-PER will not only feed LHR but also CDG and FRA, likewise the flights from SYD & BNE. There are 3 swing gates now in T3 so the airport will be able to accomodate not only a PER-LHR but a PER-CDG and PER-FRA at the same time

Ye, you nailed it. QF will understandably want maximum return from its investment in the PER 'hub' and it needs to synchronise the eastern states feed. Won't be too close to PER-LHR departure times due to lounge and 'terminal' capacity issues but I'd expect there to be enough overlap that you'd see the CDG and LHR 787s parked next to each other for a while. Now QF just needs to spin up the PR wheels and name its CDG-bound 7876s after famous French Aussies such as La Perouse and, well, are there any others?

That said, while SYD would be a stronger drawcard for Parisians and Frenchies, could SYD work on a 787 route given that SYD is not a 787 base? What would it take to make SYD a 787 base in order to implement an 'arc' flying pattern like CDG-SYD-SFO for example? Or would the 787 terminate at SYD and then do a domestic leg to MEL or BNE?

But it also is a question as to how confident QF is with the ULR aircraft.

If you can fly SYD/MEL-LHR/FRA/CDG/JFK direct
Do you need the PER hub and/or do you have too many 789s (if you go above 8) given QF have seemingly decided they are the wrong aircraft for domestic and medium hall Asian routes

moa999 wrote:

But it also is a question as to how confident QF is with the ULR aircraft.

If you can fly SYD/MEL-LHR/FRA/CDG/JFK direct
Do you need the PER hub and/or do you have too many 789s (if you go above 8) given QF have seemingly decided they are the wrong aircraft for domestic and medium hall Asian routes

I don't know if they've decided that but, at the moment with fuel prices as they are, a near fully depreciated A330 makes a lot more sense of flights up to 9 hours than an expensive new 787. In time the A330s will reach their end of life and the decision may be different.

CraigAnderson wrote:

That said, while SYD would be a stronger drawcard for Parisians and Frenchies, could SYD work on a 787 route given that SYD is not a 787 base? What would it take to make SYD a 787 base in order to implement an 'arc' flying pattern like CDG-SYD-SFO for example? Or would the 787 terminate at SYD and then do a domestic leg to MEL or BNE?

Qantas has made it clear that they still intend to replace some of the 744s with 789s and with all 744s based in Sydney soon, it would be safe to safe 787s will be in Sydney. It is a matter of when. I would say you could do SFO-SYD-PER-CDG and YVR-SYD-PER-FRA in the arc formation.

waoz1 wrote:

I can see the merit in Sydney/Melbourne to Europe however a lot of people arent going to want to do that amount of time in economy. Everyone went crazy when Perth was announced because of the flight times. So I think you need two options maybe Direct and then Via Perth then can drop Singapore as an option.

Qantas has said that even with direct SYD-LHR that they would retain a SYD-SIN-LHR service as it would be more popular with some customers, probably not on an A380 though.

The Singapore stop over is useful because it allows you to swing by Singapore for meetings on the way home from London.

waoz1 wrote:

moa999 wrote:

But it also is a question as to how confident QF is with the ULR aircraft.

If you can fly SYD/MEL-LHR/FRA/CDG/JFK direct
Do you need the PER hub and/or do you have too many 789s (if you go above 8) given QF have seemingly decided they are the wrong aircraft for domestic and medium hall Asian routes

I can see the merit in Sydney/Melbourne to Europe however a lot of people arent going to want to do that amount of time in economy. Everyone went crazy when Perth was announced because of the flight times. So I think you need two options maybe Direct and then Via Perth then can drop Singapore as an option.

Qf have said in the past , that even with direct they will still have the Singapore option, It will not be a 380 or maybe even the 778 or 359 . But it will still run 789 maybe . Plus if I want a stop over on the way to or from, I know the city I would prefer between Perth and Singapore
AN767

waoz1 wrote:

An767 wrote:

waoz1 wrote:

I can see the merit in Sydney/Melbourne to Europe however a lot of people arent going to want to do that amount of time in economy. Everyone went crazy when Perth was announced because of the flight times. So I think you need two options maybe Direct and then Via Perth then can drop Singapore as an option.

Qf have said in the past , that even with direct they will still have the Singapore option, It will not be a 380 or maybe even the 778 or 359 . But it will still run 789 maybe . Plus if I want a stop over on the way to or from, I know the city I would prefer between Perth and Singapore
AN767

Obviously not worried about the endless queues, expensive food and accommodation of Singapore then.

Not at all , but i have one advantage I stay with freinds and we eat at hawker center at Changi Village

Here is a video of ZNC from its photo shoot in January

https://twitter.com/flightorg/status/973994270850916352

Cobham returns E90 to lessor

http://australianaviation.com.au/2018/0 ... to-lessor/

ZND has entered into its first international service today, QF95 MEL-LAX

https://twitter.com/flightradar24/statu ... 7136295936

qf789 wrote:

ZND has entered into its first international service today, QF95 MEL-LAX

https://twitter.com/flightradar24/statu ... 7136295936

Will be interesting to see which aircraft ends up operating the Melbourne - Perth - London.

EK413

Tigerair by the looks of it have very quietly dropped the HBA-OOL route from the end of April 2018. There is no mention of it happening, and nothing has been released by either HBA or TT but you can't book flights after the end of April. Wasn't flagged as a seasonal service: http://australianaviation.com.au/2017/0 ... t-flights/

I'm not surprised, one holiday market to another. When JQ tried it a few years ago they shifted the flights to BNE after about 6 months. Coincidentally about the same time frame that this service has lasted.

Boof wrote:

Tigerair by the looks of it have very quietly dropped the HBA-OOL route from the end of April 2018. There is no mention of it happening, and nothing has been released by either HBA or TT but you can't book flights after the end of April. Wasn't flagged as a seasonal service: http://australianaviation.com.au/2017/0 ... t-flights/

I'm not surprised, one holiday market to another. When JQ tried it a few years ago they shifted the flights to BNE after about 6 months. Coincidentally about the same time frame that this service has lasted.

What's surprising is that carriers are unable to make flights work in Australia that are ~2x weekly, as is more common in other developed nations. If it operated direct ~2x week (say Thursday and Sunday), it gives people the chance to have a long weekend (in either HBA or OOL) and fly home. For those that want different dates, they can fly one-way direct and the other via MEL... evidently they've decided these sort of routes are unprofitable to operate like that but I'm interested as to why it doesn't happen here (with few exceptions) but is much more common overseas.

Qantas16 wrote:

Boof wrote:

Tigerair by the looks of it have very quietly dropped the HBA-OOL route from the end of April 2018. There is no mention of it happening, and nothing has been released by either HBA or TT but you can't book flights after the end of April. Wasn't flagged as a seasonal service: http://australianaviation.com.au/2017/0 ... t-flights/

I'm not surprised, one holiday market to another. When JQ tried it a few years ago they shifted the flights to BNE after about 6 months. Coincidentally about the same time frame that this service has lasted.

What's surprising is that carriers are unable to make flights work in Australia that are ~2x weekly, as is more common in other developed nations. If it operated direct ~2x week (say Thursday and Sunday), it gives people the chance to have a long weekend (in either HBA or OOL) and fly home. For those that want different dates, they can fly one-way direct and the other via MEL... evidently they've decided these sort of routes are unprofitable to operate like that but I'm interested as to why it doesn't happen here (with few exceptions) but is much more common overseas.

Seems to me that airlines are happy to allow HBA and LST pax funnel through MEL, however they are steadily increasing services to other parts such as SYD and BNE. No doubt that MEL is the de facto gateway to Tasmania, especially internationally.

EK413 wrote:

qf789 wrote:

ZND has entered into its first international service today, QF95 MEL-LAX

https://twitter.com/flightradar24/statu ... 7136295936

Will be interesting to see which aircraft ends up operating the Melbourne - Perth - London.

EK413

Yes it will be interesting to see which one gets the honours

A couple of special visitors to SYD for ASEAN

From Indonesia - 738



https://twitter.com/www16Right/status/9 ... 9323920384

From Cambodia - A320



https://twitter.com/www16Right/status/9 ... 5685508096

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietjet-inks- ... 127982.vnp

Vietjet air to start SGN-BNE from 2019 after a deal was signed to start direct flights to BNE. This is a good start as we can expect many new airlines and routes over the next few days with Routes Asia.

All flights have been cancelled to and from Darwin today due to the arrival if TC Marcus. DRW is now closed.

https://www.darwinairport.com.au/
http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern- ... 06f7ac2557