I nailed it on the first post!

How are you so sure of type...no announcement yet is there?

you'll see. Turboprops are on the wya!

:ok: JB sticking it to Qantas......he's doing great things for the domestic market and great things for VB and the XR/DJ tie up is very interesting and will shake up the regional markets a bit. It makes sense getting XR to run the prop fleet, looks like XR could potentially/is going to become the regional/charter arm of DJ, so only a matter of time until we see them running the E190's round the place. Ala QF and QF Link.......

There is ALOT of $$$ involved in the FIFO business and with more and more projects coming up in the Pilbara it's only going to get better for someone.

Can't wait to see what DJ comes up with for the big re branding and overhaul , going by JB's record so far it can only be good and hopefully he gives a J class worth paying for unlike the Qantas joke that was put on the latest 330.

It does make you wonder if he had of been given the top job at QF what he would of done with the rat...........could of turned it around too instead of letting the little leprechaun slowly poison it to death.

Be interesting to see if these Turboprops that are coming in will ultimately replace the EMB-170 routes they fly in?

Hmmm I think the turbo props are the begining of the end for the Embraer. JB knows there is no competing with the Q400.

So they won't, they will continue to make a mozza from the routes where they are the sole operator!;)

I reckon the money is on the ATR42/72 split. But I wouldnt put anything past the Q400, quite a few on the market that can be snapped up

ATR are pushing the new -600 model which features a new full glass flight deck with cat 3 AP and ACARS. It also a newer larger engines which makes it faster than the current -500.

In the phone hook-up yesterday Skywest confirmed the VB deal is for a 70 seat turboprop so we could see the 72-600 used on the east coast and the 42-600 in the west. They also said they are looking for the best deal, so with ATR keen to get the 72 into Australia I'm sure they will sharpen their pencil.

Seems like QF finally woke up. :rolleyes:

Qantas 747s to fly Perth-Sydney - The West Australian

Qantas 747s to fly Perth-Sydney

Qantas is applying blow torch to Virgin Blue’s plans to snare some of the corporate market with a new business class product by introducing 747-400s on the Perth-Sydney route from May.

The new 747 service will leave Sydney at 10am for Perth and will depart Perth for Sydney at approximately 1pm.

The 747-400 will be in an international configuration with business class lie flat beds, premium economy and economy layout.

Virgin Blue will introduce a new business class product in May with its first two 300-seat A330s which will be dedicated to Perth services from Sydney and Melbourne.

Qantas will also announce today that it will reconfigure some of its A330s reducing the number of business class seats to a six across layout.

In December, Qantas re-introduced a business class layout on its A330s of seven across in a 2-3-2 setting.

The airline tried this when it first took delivery of the A330s eight years ago but pressure from corporate accounts saw it scraped.

Most Qantas A330s are still in the six across business class layout.

Qantas will also add another 1700 seats a week on its Brisbane-Perth route with an additional daily A330/767 service.

Surprise surprise. It's the only way QF can expect to retain a reasonable share of it's business customers. Can't wait to see VB's 'almost' lie flat business seats. Unless QF can match this on all their services, there will still be an exodus of it's regular business pax. I dare say the route frequency and the frequent flyer scheme will be the only thing keeping them at Qantas. If borg's comes up with a strategy to beat that which I'm sure is in the works, then it's game on in 2011.

The new 747 Syd-Per flights are at awful times for business travel.....

What sort of turn around time would one expect for a 74-400?

It is sad to see Qantas has no eggs left in their basket!! They have to recycle the old B747's and use them as domestic machines, clearly not what they were designed for! All the new equipment is going to Jetstar....shame on the Qantas board!!

Qantas management yet again displays it's "reactive" approach to everything they do.

Not an original thought among them....

What "Genius" dreamed this one up?

1000am departure from SYD ......:rolleyes:
1300 departure from PER...........:{

WRONG.

Did anyone bother to ask any business people in SYD or PER-consult the Platinum data base and do a ring around of the idea.

Nope ! Just find a spare 744 and plonk it into the network where it fits OUR F:mad: needs.

WAKE UP....... JB knows this market. He is already sniffing the breeze and smells the scent of decay!

Overhere-the Perth locals are sick of the 2nd rate treatment QF dishes out.

Hey....try something new. Talk to the customer. Ask them what they want.

Dopes:ugh:

Stubby jumbo: it's actually a 1010 departure SYD and an arrival into PER around 1300 LCL. The 744 then departs PER around 1435 and arrives SYD 2020 LCL.

Given all the A330 and B767 flights both earlier and later in the day, what exactly is the problem? You want a later 744 departure out of PER and have the plane end up in MEL or BNE because it's missed the SYD curfew? One of the eastbound flights has that problem every day - you want to simply switch the types around? Or are you wanting the 744 Skybed on the redeye PER-SYD? That would be nice but the skybed is not really targeted at 4 hour sectors. You really have to consider where the Skybed is wanted at night: coming overnight into Aus on long sectors from HKG, SIN (ie Europe) and from the USA. So it really isn't as simple as it seems.

A look at June's timetable shows 7 QF flights doing SYD-PER-SYD, all at different times of the day, to meet demand throughout the day no doubt. Perhaps putting all that extra 744 capacity on in the middle of the day means that now business class pax won't be struggling to get a J-class seat on any of the other 6 flights!? Greatly improved flexibility for the suits!

There is just no satisfying some people though.... We could bring caviar back onto the menu and no doubt you would smell something fishy in that.

Actually... YES... you would like the skybed on the red eye when you are trying to SLEEP!

The whole idea is that the 747 provides a better Business Class offer, but business people want full days... they don't want to arrive or leave in the middle of the day!

Speaking from many years of domestic flying experience, including a lot of Red-Eyes: the problem is I don't believe the demand is there to have a 350+ seat plane with 65 Skybeds doing the PER-SYD Red-Eye. Sounds lovely for a pax but I reckon that would be a loss-maker overall. AT MOST what is needed is an A330 doing the Red-Eye but we seem to be short of those, for some reason.....

And yes, I still question the whole cost/value/benefit thing of a Skybed on a "relatively" short sector such as PER-SYD. Granted, it's a miserable night-time leg but you would only be tucked up in the Skybed proper for about 2.5 hours, 3 hours max. But I'm sorry, but these are expensive things and are not in unlimited supply. They are used on genuine long haul routes where people will get/want to get 6,8+ hours of sleep. The airline could not justify the return on the investment putting them on PER-SYD at the expense of foregoing them elsewhere on longer sectors.

So why do SYD-PER-SYD during the DAYTIME with the 744/Skybed? Exactly as they say: using the aircraft when they would otherwise be sitting on the ground, prior to heading to Europe overnight. This is all about increasing total capacity and you'd do it with A330's if they were available (again, where are they...?). The Skybed is just a bonus and the marketers are playing it up - maybe they shouldn't.

Domestically, on SYD-PER-SYD you provide a J class product that is roomy enough, seat reclines a good distance and is private (ie, no 7th seat -something QF has stuffed around with for years, going back and forth on that 4 times so far, by my count).

There will always be people who want more and more but at the end of the day are not prepared to pay for it. In the case of a Skybed on the PER-SYD Red-Eye: it would cost QF a LOT in foregone revenue if it sacrificed European/USA Skybed services in order to put it on Red-Eye. Would pax pay an increased J-class fare to offset that? Not a chance.

.........thats precisely my point Ushuaia.

Its NOT about whats best for Qantas.

It should be whats best for the customer. Let me tell you.....there are loads of people here in the PER business market prepared to pay for the 744 on the Red Eye. There are many many Execs associated with the Resources Companies who are time poor who would (or their companies) be more than happy to pay the premium.

Hey ....why not ask them ??????

.........Not some one with "plenty of years of domestic flying experience" sitting beyond the thunderdome !!!