Qantas Cuts Business Class on Melbourne-HK, A330 Replaces 747
By John Walton, Australian Business Traveller | Aug. 24, 2011
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When Qantas cuts the Hong Kong-London Heathrow extension of its Melbourne-Hong Kong flights in March, it will also downsize the plane used from a Boeing 747-400 to an Airbus A330.
That means fewer business class seats -- and in a single cabin just in front of economy rather than having the option of picking the quiet and spacious upper deck on a 747.
Following a tip-off from reader Ning He, we've confirmed that flight QF29 to Hong Kong and QF30 to Melbourne will drop down to the Airbus A330-300. Flights will, however, remain on a daily schedule.
Flight times remain similar, with QF29 departing Melbourne at 14:15 p.m. (with one-hour adjustments for daylight savings) and arriving in Hong Kong at 21:45 p.m. There's then a choice of two British Airways flights if you're connecting to Heathrow, BA26 at 23:15 p.m. or BA28 at 23:45 p.m.
On the return flight, QF30 leaves Melbourne at 18:55 p.m. and arrives in Melbourne at 7:10 a.m. the following day. Pick BA27 to connect from Heathrow unless you want to spend a few extra hours in Hong Kong: BA27 arrives in Hong Kong at 16:05 p.m., rather than the earlier BA25, which arrives at 13:05 p.m.