Qantas will be increasing its Perth-Singapore flights to a double daily service starting April 8, 2018 – the latest schedule update from the airline as it gears up for the launch of its new non-stop Perth-London Dreamliner flights in March.

The new flights (QF77/QF78) will be flown using Qantas’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft – a frequent sight throughout its domestic network – that the airline configures with 12 business and 162 economy class seats. Business class is set up in three rows of 2-2 and seats have 37 inches of pitch and 33 inches of width.

These additional flights have been absorbed by Qantas from its budget subsidiary, Jetstar Airways, which will be axing its flights on the route from March 25 next year. This is not the case for the low-cost carrier’s Melbourne-Singapore service, however, which will drop from a five- to a two-times-weekly service from the same day in March. According to the airline, the flying time will be deployed on other routes “to be announced next year”.

Qantas has been shaking up its Singapore services recently, perhaps most notably in the rerouting of its Airbus A380 superjumbo from its Sydney-Dubai-London service to Sydney-Singapore-London, as part of an extended partnership with Emirates. The aim is for the two carriers to provide three key routings between Australia and Europe by early next year – direct to Perth, via Singapore with Qantas and via Dubai with Emirates.

While the A380 is scheduled to permanently fly the airline’s QF1/QF2 flights from March 25 onwards, the airline’s current daily QF81/QF82 flights are also set to temporarily get the superjumbo from March 4 to March 24 next year, during which time the route will operate only four times a week on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

“Across our network, our strategy is focused on making sure we have the right aircraft on the right route and a schedule that reflects customer demand,” a spokesperson for the airline said. “The changes also offer more schedule choice and improve connectivity between Qantas and Jetstar Asia as well as partner airlines through Singapore, a key hub city in our Asian network where we are seeing strong growth.”

Ahead of the launch of its new London-Perth service, Qantas also aims to open a new international wing at Perth Airport that will integrate the carrier’s international and domestic services.

qantas.com.au