Qantas has just announced the details of its newest ultra long haul route, and it’s an exciting one…
In this post:
Qantas launching Boeing 787 flights to Paris
As of July 12, 2024, Qantas will introduce a new 3-4x weekly year-round flight between Australia and France, just in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The new service will operate from Sydney (SYD) to Perth (PER) to Paris (CDG), so passengers can start their journey in any of those cities. The flight will operate the following schedule:
QF33 Sydney to Perth departing 1:55PM arriving 5:00PM
QF33 Perth to Paris departing 7:35PM arriving 6:55AM (+1 day)
QF34 Paris to Perth departing 9:55AM arriving 8:30AM (+1 day)
QF34 Perth to Sydney departing 10:00AM arriving 4:05PM
The flight between Perth and Paris will cover a distance of 8,863 miles, and is blocked at 17hr20min westbound and 16hr35min eastbound. Then the flight between Sydney and Perth will cover a distance of 2,040 miles, and is blocked at 5hr5min westbound and 4hr5min eastbound.
Qantas will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route, featuring 236 seats, including 42 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 166 economy seats. This is a very low density configuration, though despite that, none of Qantas’ cabins are particularly remarkable.
How France service fits into Qantas’ network
This new route will be the first time in nearly two decades where the airline offers service to Paris, and it cuts the current fastest travel time from Perth to Paris by around three hours. Admittedly the time savings are really only there for those originating in Western Australia, because if you’re coming from Melbourne or Sydney, there are lots of other one-stop routings to Paris via the Middle East, with similar travel time.
For context on Qantas’ service to Europe, the airline currently flies:
- Year-round from Melbourne to Perth to London using Boeing 787s
- Year-round from Sydney to Singapore to London using Airbus A380s
- Seasonally from Sydney to Perth to Rome using Boeing 787s
So Paris will be Qantas’ third destination in Europe, and the carrier’s second year-round destination in Europe. Qantas has been considering resuming Paris flights for years now, so it’s nice to see this become a reality.
Where does this rank on the list of the world’s longest flights? It will be the world’s sixth longest flight route, and Qantas’ second longest route, as it’s marginally shorter than the existing Perth to London service.
Bottom line
Qantas will be launching year-round flights between Perth and Paris, just in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The airline will operate these flights 3-4x weekly using Boeing 787s, and this will be Qantas’ third destination in Europe, and second longest route.
We’ve know that these flights have been on Qantas’ radar for quite some time, so it’s cool to see this become a reality (even if Qantas’ product is totally mediocre, and the airline releases such little award space).
What do you make of Qantas adding Paris flights?
Btw, Qantas doesn’t sell you a ticket for a flight, it sell you the *notion* of a flight. It sells you a bundle of rights, according to Qantas.
“The ‘service’ Qantas relevantly offers is a bundle of contractual rights, which are consistent with Qantas’ promise to do its best to get consumers where they want to be on time.”
https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/qantas-says-it-didn-t-make-money-selling-cancelled-flights-20231030-p5efzu
Qantas is quite a good airline but it has been through some very tough times recently (many self-inflicted) and if anything I would say the biggest issue isn't the business seat or lack of great pitch in premium economy etc, it is the poor staff morale. They have not be treated well, the PR damage to the airline by the CEO and the board is shocking and how Qantas management have treated the flying public...
Qantas is quite a good airline but it has been through some very tough times recently (many self-inflicted) and if anything I would say the biggest issue isn't the business seat or lack of great pitch in premium economy etc, it is the poor staff morale. They have not be treated well, the PR damage to the airline by the CEO and the board is shocking and how Qantas management have treated the flying public has also been very disappointing. The staff are the face of the airline and they are hurt and it shows. The F lounges are fantastic, most business lounges are very good as well. Catering can definitely be improved onboard, and WiFi will be added once Viasat launches the APAC satellite or maybe sooner if they explore Starlink. It's a solid airline but has some repair work to do, which Boston Consulting Group is currently engaged in assessing and proposing solutions to. One Project Sunrise is up and running I truly hope these very turbulent times are a distant memory for the airline, or else SQ, Qatar and Emirates will be getting even more love from those flying overseas.
BCG's drones can't do much but cost cutting. Were McKinsey's sad sacks of shite unavailable?
One is still stuck with Qantas “service.”
Flew QF1 FC last month SYD-SIN and was wholly underwhelmed. I’ll continue to connect to AF via SIN for my MEL/SYD-CDG trips, thank you.
Why are you so inconsistent when it comes to Qantas? From the review of their 787 business class:
"While there are a lot of airlines with staggered seats, Qantas’ seat has quite a few advantages, in my opinion:
Qantas makes these seats feel incredibly private thanks to the privacy shield they install
The seats generally feel more spacious than some other staggered products out there
Qantas chose incredibly sleek finishes; parts of the...
Why are you so inconsistent when it comes to Qantas? From the review of their 787 business class:
"While there are a lot of airlines with staggered seats, Qantas’ seat has quite a few advantages, in my opinion:
Qantas makes these seats feel incredibly private thanks to the privacy shield they install
The seats generally feel more spacious than some other staggered products out there
Qantas chose incredibly sleek finishes; parts of the cabin almost feel like you’re in a luxury car, rather than an airplane"
"So yeah, overall this is an excellent hard product. Is it my favorite business class seat in the world? No, it’s not quite to the level of Qsuites or Apex Suites, but it’s up there. And it really is a gorgeous cabin".
That doesn't sound "totally mediocre" to me. Your only real complaint was that they don't serve enough food (which is at odds with the various references to being 'stuffed' in other reviews).
Your recent review of Qantas A380 First Class was also quite positive.
When you actually fly Qantas you're quite complementary. Why are you so determined to run them down otherwise?
Not sure what people want, geez. The QF 787 has least density so where is the praise for that, which airline has lounges in a 787, the same or similar seat is used on other airlines but not criticised , in my view good there's no wifi, there is not likely the traffic to put an A380 on the run but everyone outside the airline knows better. It's fashionable to knock qantas.
A plane consisting exclusively of Etihad Residence seats, unlimited $2k / bottle champagne and caviar, with every seat available at economy-level saver pricing. Anything else is for savages ;)
Great news! At the same time, you're right about the Qantas 787 experience. I feel like they didn't put nearly as much effort into their 787s as they did their A380s. The product on the 787s would be great for a transatlantic flight but when you're flying some of the longest routes in the world you'd expect considerably more. For instance, there aren't really any special spaces like lounges, bars, or designated stretching areas onboard...
Great news! At the same time, you're right about the Qantas 787 experience. I feel like they didn't put nearly as much effort into their 787s as they did their A380s. The product on the 787s would be great for a transatlantic flight but when you're flying some of the longest routes in the world you'd expect considerably more. For instance, there aren't really any special spaces like lounges, bars, or designated stretching areas onboard when that would be very useful. (I'm not counting those small baskets or shelves in the galleys with snacks and junk food that pretty much all airlines have.) I still find it criminal that Qantas doesn't put 8-abreast seats in economy on their 787s when they operate flights of this length. And they still don't have Wi-Fi on any of their long-haul aircraft. People who don't live in the few cities that get the A380 get the short end of the stick when it comes to Qantas service.
and yet their B787-9 is only 236 seats. Hardly 'crammed in'
As a Perthite, I'm delighted to now have direct service to London, Rome and Paris.
A380 doesn't have the range for these flights anyway. And I find the 787 product as good or better than the A380 in QF business.
I didn't say that the business seats themselves weren't good. I think they are. I meant more like the other cabins. Also, I notice that in the SFO-MEL review, Ben said he felt like the meal portions were too small for a flight of that length. I also saw travel blogger Jeb Brooks review PER-LHR and one complaint he had was that the amenity kits contained just the basics. Besides making the cabin relatively spacious,...
I didn't say that the business seats themselves weren't good. I think they are. I meant more like the other cabins. Also, I notice that in the SFO-MEL review, Ben said he felt like the meal portions were too small for a flight of that length. I also saw travel blogger Jeb Brooks review PER-LHR and one complaint he had was that the amenity kits contained just the basics. Besides making the cabin relatively spacious, when designing the cabins, I feel like Qantas had the attitude that the routes their 787 is intended to fly are just like any long-haul route like JFK-LHR, LAX-NRT, or LHR-SIN when in reality they fly many of the longest flights in the world. While I think it's still a good long-haul product, at least in business, it lacks the extra things that would make it a good ultra-long-haul product. Look at what Singapore Airlines did with their A350ULR cabins for example. That's kind of like the extra thing I'm talking about.
Does it strike anyone the plane is on the ground in Perth for 2.5 hours?
Is that bad? On the MEL-PER-LHR flight, the vast majority of those flying to London originate in Perth, so I suspect this will be similar.
If originating in Sydney the total travel time is 25 hours, but if you do the QF/AF codeshare and transit in SIN instead of PER the travel time is reduced to 23 hours. Personally I would rather transit in SIN and enjoy the F lounge there but this is a great flight if you are originating in PER obviously. 2 extra hours of travel time is not ideal, even using the EK codeshare is <24 hours. Some people wouldn't care but like quick connections when possible.
No, we can add and subtract, too, DanG. What's your point?
As an Aussie, I would agree that QF are not industry leading, but they're hardly mediocre. I've flown long haul on them 3 times this year (DFW-MEL, DFW-SYD). My only gripe is lack of wifi on long haul and the crappy Business lounge in SYD. I also think Joyce has a lot to answer for. I personally like the hard and soft product - but also agree lack of award space has always been an issue.
Maybe fly a bit more and get intobthe first class lounge. It's lovely. In case you missed it, the business lounge is to be refurbished.
You really don't like QF's onboard product do you, Ben? To be honest I think you're absolutely right. No aspect of QF's operations, except maybe the LAX and SYD F lounges, is industry leading anymore. If anything, it's industry-trailing. Not industry leading. Might be interesting to do a blog post on their decline, because it almost feels like a similar situation to the decline of Etihad that we saw a few years back, but stretched...
You really don't like QF's onboard product do you, Ben? To be honest I think you're absolutely right. No aspect of QF's operations, except maybe the LAX and SYD F lounges, is industry leading anymore. If anything, it's industry-trailing. Not industry leading. Might be interesting to do a blog post on their decline, because it almost feels like a similar situation to the decline of Etihad that we saw a few years back, but stretched over more time. I remember reading about your dad's big birthday trip back in 2015, and how you were really disappointed in QF's onboard service. You even cancelled 4 segments (LHR-DXB-SYD-DXB-LHR) in QF F that you'd planned to take months after it, IIRC.
Give me qantas any day over the likes of AA BA EK etc. Love the service and attention I get by qantas and its not necessarily in first.
Am wondering whether they will codeshare with Air France, seeing as they have reinstated their partnership via HKG and SIN.
“…seeing as they have reinstated their partnership via HKG and SIN.”
Really?
I flew AF SIN-CDG last month and neither saw nor heard a thing about it, not at the airport, not in the QF 1st lounge in SIN, nor on board AF257.
I don’t doubt that you’re correct, but usually airlines tout their codeshares, don’t they? Or maybe not…
Only announced a few days ago
... after some considerable negotiations with Perth (PER) Airport, concerning a very long-standing stoush with airport management - who previously wanted QF to move from the QF Terminals 3-4 to the International Terminal. The new CEO (Vanessa Hudson) has done a fine job in getting this resolved, where the recently departed Alan Joyce couldn't.
@Ben - “and it cuts the current fastest travel time from Perth to Sydney by around three hours.” Shouldn’t that be Paris to Sydney?
Why? He goes on to say why it isn’t sydney he’s referring to.
Their product might not be the most class leading but it’s definitely not mediocre.
100% agree, Chris ! I also see the term 'mediocre" being somewhat unfair.
QF is rated by SkyTrax as a '4 Star' carrier (yes, I know it is SkyTrax - but QF certainly doesn't subscribe to their .. ahem ... "subscription" service).
I'd suggest that if Ben regards QF as "mediocre" - particularly given his favourable reviews on QF across the Pacific, the its about time to check the US legacy carriers for...
100% agree, Chris ! I also see the term 'mediocre" being somewhat unfair.
QF is rated by SkyTrax as a '4 Star' carrier (yes, I know it is SkyTrax - but QF certainly doesn't subscribe to their .. ahem ... "subscription" service).
I'd suggest that if Ben regards QF as "mediocre" - particularly given his favourable reviews on QF across the Pacific, the its about time to check the US legacy carriers for their ratings which are generally 2-3 stars.
For ULH travel routes, it is pleasing to see that QF continues (along with SQ) to dominate the world of ultra long distance routes globally.
>QF is rated by SkyTrax as a '4 Star' carrier
Sit down.
I'm 'old school', Sara,
... only if the lady does so, first.
Be quiet “Sara”, you bloody imbecile.
Apparently QF is focussing on leisure travel, as it does with Rome. In terms of business travel, with Perth being a large commodities and mining hub really only London (and to a much lesser degree Zurich) makes sense.
The only reason the operate via PER is that the 789 doesn't have the legs for SYD-CDG or MEL-LHR nonstop.
I would seriously question demand between Zürich and Perth. In addition to leisure travel, Paris has a lot of professional fairs and most swiss commodity traders are based in Geneva not Zürich (Trafigura, Mercuria, Gunvor, Vitol, Cargill CH), only Glencore is in Zug.