DownUnderFlyer

I was excited when Qantas was bringing QF5 back but instead of going to its former destination of Frankfurt it will now be seasonal destination, Rome:

QF5
PER 22:20
FCO 08:45 (+1)
16 hr 25 min

And the return
QF6
FCO 10:50
PER 08:45 (+1)
15 hr 45 min

Operated on a 789 and flight starts and ends in SYD.

djsflynn

It's a great new destination, and arguably makes more sense than Frankfurt too. I'm hopeful that some other European destinations will follow.

og

Outbound times look great for connections at both ends. Return departure time is very limiting for flight connections but would work nicely if you’re staying in the Rome area.

nivsy

Why does it make more sense than FRA? Size of Italian community in PER?

SW7London

Yes large Italian community in Perth. Macedonian and Greek communities also largish although not to the extent of the Italians.

Will be interesting to see demand.

Globaliser

The next step may be QF wheeling out that old song again: Gen Y dont care about Qantas it seems!

serfty

However, FRA continues to be the largest handler of Freight in the European Continent. In 2020 it handled 50% more freight than LHR.

That is one of the main underlying reasons why FRA was just about the last if not the last of QF's European continental destinations to be dropped after the great cull earlier this century.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...pe-by-airport/

goback

This is not soon enough since QF cancelled the old FCO-SIN-MEL flight in the first decade of the century. It will be great to fly direct from Australia to Rome .

djsflynn

Size of Italian community in SYD and MEL, and that Qantas sees the VFR (visiting friends & relatives) market as the big ticket for 2022, with a dollop of tourism on top (note that VFR can of course be both ways, ie Italians coming to AU to visit close & extended family) – while the airline knows there'll be some business travel in the mix for 2022, it's expected to see a slower recovery and become more prominent in 2023.

As regards FRA, it's historically been more of a 'business' destination. Serfty has noted the cargo potential, which could change things, but Qantas' focus on destinations with a stronger business pull is likely to be more of a 2023 thing, and that includes new destinations such as Chicago and even Seattle (source for all this: interview with Alan Joyce in mid-December).

I wouldn't be surprised to see Perth-Paris pop up, although that's far less VFR and far more straight tourism. From a VFR perspective I'd be looking more closely at the likes of Seoul.

djsflynn

Another interesting VFR destination for Qantas would be Israel. Some here may recall that El Al was planning a series of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Melbourne across April and May 2020 to test the waters, as it were.

juddles

Serfty, completely agree with your post. But most frequent flyers do not understand the importance of freight in airline operations. (as an aside, it was due to their supreme management of freight that LAN (now Latam) wiped the floor with their competition in Sth America - a heroic effort in recent airline competition)
I suspect in Covid times freight is even more important to any carrier's bottom line.

nivsy

Question is though just how much freight can a QF 787 carry in its freight hold to make it viable on a direct fight?

juddles

Good question. But my (rudimentary) understanding of the importance of freight for an ostensibly "passenger" flight is that essentially you ensure every single flight flies "full". The less pax onboard, the more freight you pile on, to maximise any possible revenue.

nivsy

Ofcourse having an"full pax load flight" does not.mean revenue....up front a different story but cheaper economy fares don't really work for airlines for revenue.purposes, hence as one UK airline accountant told me once " better a full business class and zero souls down the back".
Many failed airlines or routes have flown with over 80 percent capacity but made Nada. I believe the 787 is not a great freight space carrier partly due to the fusalage loading door.

juddles

The thing I agree with here is that it is the top end that makes money these days. Have a look at most seat maps and you rapidly discover that most successful airlines now devote at least half the airframe to premium cabins. I am talking long haul international here, not the cut-throat race to the bottom that are modern short legs or domestic.