Qantas cuts routes, defers Dreamliner

Qantas is to defer delivery of the Boeing Dreamliner, and cut several key routes, as profits plunge. However it is completing the revamp of its Boeing 747, and increasing capacity in other areas.

Qantas is to defer delivery of the Boeing Dreamliner, and cut several key routes, as profits plunge. However it is completing the revamp of its Boeing 747, and increasing capacity in other areas.

Qantas is to drop its key Melbourne-Auckland-Los Angeles route from the 6th of May 2012. This route was something of an oddball, and the only longhaul route left after Qantas turned its New Zealand operation over to Jetstar. With Continental about to start flying to Auckland from the US, Qantas may have been worried about competition.

Another route facing the chop is to India, which Qantas has always had trouble running profitably. The original route to Bombay (Mumbai) was axed in 2003. Restored in 2010 as an extension onwards from Singapore, Qantas never had good loads to Mumbai, and now it is going for good.

Qantas have already announced that it will effectively withdraw from mainline Kangaroo route to London, axing flights from Bangkok to London and Hong Kong to London, leaving only a connection via Singapore. Other cutback include the Los Angeles to New York route, where the A380 will be replaced with Boeing 747. However the Sydney-Tokyo route sees a slight increase, where one A330 service per week is to be swapped into the rest of the daily 747 services.

The Qantas Dreamliner is also no longer going to be with the carrier this year - the entry of the Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft will now only fly with Qantas at some time to be announced in the future. Qantas has 50 Dreamliners on order, of which 15 will replace Jetstar's A330-200 aircraft.

Qantas however has some good news for those on the ultra-long Dallas route. It has now completed refurnishing three Boeing 747-400 aircraft, removing First Class. The aircraft is now configured to feature 58 business class seats, 36 premium economy seats and 270 economy seats. The cabins are very similar to those on the Qantas A380, with the latest ????? fully flat-bed in business class, as opposed to the older lie-slope seat. The IFE inflight entertainment system is now fully AVOD, with the latest on Q system, and there are self-service snack bars in all cabins, including in economy.

Nine Qantas Boeing 747s are being revamped in this way; two are in use on Brisbane to Los Angeles, while the third flies the Sydney-Dallas-Brisbane-Sydney triangle. The fourth is expected on the Sydney to Buenos Aires route.