After more than two years, the classic Kangaroo Route and the A380 superjumbo are both hopping back.
Qantas’ flagship QF1 flight from Sydney to London via Singapore will resume in June, with the A380 superjumbo reclaiming pride of place on the iconic Kangaroo Route.
It’s another welcome sign that travel is getting back to normal, and that scene is expected to include the re-opening ofb the elegant Qantas Singapore First Class Lounge, which has been shuttered since March 2020 – although the Qantas Singapore Business lounge unlocked its doors in December 2020.
Qantas’ Singapore lounges: business class (left) and first class (right).
Since November 2021 the Sydney-London service has been running on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and making the necessary stopover at Darwin (where, to ease the top end transit, Qantas turned Darwin Airport’s Catalina Lounge into a temporary International Lounge (due to Covid-driven transit restrictions as Singapore’s Changi Airport.
Darwin will continue in that role until mid-June, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told us this morning, adding that direct Perth. – London flights would resume on June 19 – just three days before the inaugural of the Perth-Rome route.
As for Singapore, which this week dropped transit restrictions at Changi Airport, Joyce noted that “while they have eased up the rules, there’s still a cap (on passenger numbers) and we have to wait until that opens up further” so as to support the 485-seat Airbus A380, “we need to have the maximum amount of capacity to make that work.”
Joyce also confirmed that when the A380s come back to Sydney-Singapore-London they’ll all be the upgraded superjumbos which feature the latest business class and premium economy seats, along with two new ‘premium lounges’ at the front of the upper deck and refreshed first class suites.
The Qantas superjumbos have been refreshed with new business class suites and upper deck lounges areas.
Both will be especially appreciated on the nearly 24-hour trek, compared to the original A380 business class Skybed seats and the single, narrow, and not-very-comfortable ‘lounge’ area.
However, if you’re sitting on a stash of Qantas Points that have piled up during the pandemic, the superjumbo’s return could represent your best chance ever to snare a first class Classic Flight Reward seat.
Treat yourself (and a friend) to first class on the Qantas A380 from just 216,900 points.
If you plan ahead and are flexible with your travel dates, it’s possible to find many Qantas First suites open to a points-based Classic Flight Reward booking at just 216,900 Qantas Points each way, which puts a Sydney-London first class return trip in your lap for around 433,000 points.
Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth has also teased the possibility of those first London-bound A380s becoming ‘Points Planes’ in which every seat is up for sale at rock-bottom Classic Reward rates.
Previous Points Plane flights have proven incredibly popular with the airline’s frequent flyers, while also helping them burn through a mountain of loyalty points built up during the pandemic.
