Qantas is hoping that its new 787 “smiley route” will continue to bring smiles to its shareholders after their shares hit all-time highs this year.
Speaking to media at Boeing in Seattle, Qantas International chief Gareth Evans said that the first 787 route from Los Angeles-Melbourne-Perth-London drew a big smile on the world map and had perfect timing for passengers and the airline.
“You leave Los Angeles, Melbourne, and Perth at the right time and arrive in London when our slot is available,” said Mr Evans.
“And the time slots in the other direction also work perfectly.”
Qantas chief Alan Joyce added that the airline had “the Kangaroo Route and the Fiesta Route of the 1960s and now Gareth’s Smiley Route.”
Qantas is pinning a continuation of its profit turnaround on the 787 and will have eight in service by November next year.
Mr Joyce said that two 787s "would carry the same number of passengers as one A380 but the two 787s would cost less to operate."
The first four are dedicated to the “smiley route” and will be is service by March, while the second batch of four will be based in Brisbane with the only route so far announced being Brisbane-Los Angeles-New York.
Closer to delivery, the airline will announce further routes for the second batch of four 787s - either Brisbane-Perth-Paris or possibly Brisbane-Chicago nonstop.
Qantas chief Alan Joyce said the airline had another 45 options and price rights with “great flexibility” for delivery.
However, Mr Joyce said that the airline needed to demonstrate to the market that the Boeing 787 would be profitable before committing to converting options to firm orders.
He said it was likely that the next batch of 787s – beyond the initial eight - would not arrive until late 2019.
Mr Evans also revealed that the airline was looking at making its seasonal Perth-Auckland service daily and year-round to feed New Zealand passengers into the London non-stop.
On Project Sunrise – the airline’s 777X / A350 Sydney-London non-stop requirement – Mr Joyce said both Boeing and Airbus were almost there but had some more work to do.
Boeing's 787-8
"Ït is an incredible challenge for Airbus and Boeing but I believe they will get there," Mr Joyce said.
Both the A350 and 777X can perform the Sydney to London non-stop mission but not with the payload that Qantas needs.
Qantas wants the aircraft to operate with 300 passengers, bags and some cargo.
Geoffrey Thomas was a guest of Qantas and Boeing.
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