QANTAS: To stick with Darwin before Singapore and Perth

Qantas will maintain Darwin as its waypoint on the way to London for the moment. It was to resume using Perth once Western Australian borders were open, originally scheduled for 5 February 2022, but since delayed indefinitely.

It was also going to resume using Singapore as a waypoint for QF1/2 out of Sydney, but has also delayed that – presumably due to Singapore’s changing transit arrangements.

So QF1/QF2 Sydney to London will have a 90-minute stopover in Darwin, not Singapore, and QF9 and QF10 will break their trip for the same amount of time also in Darwin, where you can spend some time in the temporary, Qantas run repurposed Catalina Lounge. So it looks like that ‘short term solution’ will be in place for a few months longer.

Singapore First Lounge and A380 service

Looks like this lounge will continue in its mothballed state until June too. Sydney to London passengers on the A380 service, set to resume on 19 June should start placing their bets on whether they will be heading to the UK via Singapore or Darwin. ET is reporting a Qantas spokesperson as saying that this decision will not impact the planned return of the A380 service, which doesn’t quite answer the question about via Darwin or Singapore, does it?

2PAXfly Takeout

The aviation industry has a difficult road ahead when it comes to sustainability. It’s going to require a relative revolution in technology, with ‘electric planes’ or hydrogen planes, or some form of jet engine that doesn’t require a carbon based fuel. And that is going to require the development of an alternative to jet engines probably.

It’s a big ask. It will take time to develop.

This move to home grown and manufactured SAF is a first step – maybe even a baby step in a very long road of innovation. In the long run, US$200 million won’t even touch the sides.

These days, the only constant is change. Darwin would be fun, but Singapore would be better. Still and A380 anywhere is always a good start to a great adventure.