Qantas plans to axe one Dubai flight

sydney — Australian national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd on Thursday said it would axe its Melbourne-Dubai-London flights operated in partnership with Emirates and switch the capacity to Asia when it launches non-stop Perth-London flights next year. The move is part of a strategy of cutting the journey time to London to gain an edge and pricing premium over the two dozen rivals offering one-stop flights on the so-called Kangaroo route.

Qantas will charge a premium of as much as 48 per cent in economy class and 62 per cent in business class relative to one-stop rivals like Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines on the PerthLondon route in return for saving three hours of travel time, according to online price comparisons.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce has said his airline could be operating non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London within five years as Airbus SE and Boeing Co introduce longerrange aircraft.

The 17-hour Perth-London flight on a Boeing 787-9 will originate and end in Melbourne and will not be subject to heightened security checks for Middle Eastern flights as a result.

It will cut more than an hour off the flying time from Melbourne to London relative to the current route through Dubai, Qantas said in a statement.

Sydney-Dubai-London will be the Australian airline’s only flight operating through the Emirates hub once the change takes place in March. Qantas’s capacity to London will fall as a result of the switch to a 787 from a larger A380. — Reuters