Qantas Looks to Perth as its New Non Stop Hub to Europe

21st Aug 2015

After the Australian carrier ordered several Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners yesterday, Qantas is making further plans to make Perth its new hub for flights to European and UK cities.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce spoke to The West Australian and said Perth "could become the hub for non-stop operations to Europe".

Qantas CEO also added:

"The milestone acquisition marks the scale of our turnaround and looks ahead to a new era for our iconic international airline. The key reason we chose this particular aircraft (Dreamliner) is its incredible efficiency."

Joyce also added:

"Its new technology will reduce fuel burn, cut heavy maintenance requirements and open up new destinations around the globe."

He also added that the smooth transfer from domestic to International was the key for the hub operation and that he expects this to become a reality early in the following decade as Qantas moves its domestic operations to the international side of the Perth Airport.

Qantas yesterday ordered 8 Dreamliners and has option to order another 45 of these 300-seaters by 2017. These will replace the older and less fuel-efficient Boeing 747s and Airbus A330s.

One of the keys to purchasing these planes for Qantas was making a turnaround profit this year of 409 million US dollars. In 2014, for example, the carrier suffered a $2.6 billion loss.

The arrangement with pilots, where the majority of 1300 Qantas pilots agreed to an 18-month wage freeze, also played a huge part in allowing the carrier to buy the 787-9s.

The Dreamliners will be used for routes between Perth and Europe, the carrier said.

The aircraft's biggest advantage lies in the fact it's built out of carbon fiber, making it lighter than, say, Boeing 767, so it burns 20 per cent less fuel per passenger than this plane.