Catch Qantas’ 747s on Domestic Flights

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEF (CN 32910)                     File Photo

With all of the seven remaining Boeing 747s in the Qantas fleet due to be retired by next year, time is running out to fly with Qantas on the “queen of the skies”. There are only six destinations that are still served by Qantas 747s. And the airline will end Boeing 747-400 service to Honolulu and San Francisco later this year, leaving just Tokyo, Santiago, Johannesburg and a seasonal service to Vancouver. Luckily, Qantas will be using Boeing 747s on several one-off Australian domestic services later in the year! These domestic Qantas 747 flights make it possible to take one last flight on these historic aircraft without having to catch a long-haul international flight.

According to Routes Online, Qantas 747 domestic flights are being offered on the Sydney-Brisbane, Sydney-Adelaide and Sydney-Melbourne routes in late 2019 and early 2020. The flights will depart and arrive at domestic terminals. The exact dates and flight numbers are as follows:

• Saturday 9 November 2019: QF524 Sydney-Brisbane
• Monday 11 November 2019: QF529 Brisbane-Sydney
• Saturday 23 November 2019: QF743 Sydney-Adelaide
• Monday 25 November 2019: QF736 Adelaide-Sydney
• Tuesday 31 December 2019: QF417 Sydney-Melbourne
• Wednesday 1 January 2020: QF438 Melbourne-Sydney
• Saturday 15 February 2020: QF439 Sydney-Melbourne
• Monday 17 February 2020: QF400 Melbourne-Sydney

Seats on the domestic Qantas 747 flights are available for booking on the Qantas website. Many of these flights even have Classic Flight Reward seats available for booking using Qantas points, such as QF529 from Brisbane-Sydney on 11 November.
Premium Economy is not being sold on these flights. Instead, some lucky Economy passengers will be seated in the Premium Economy cabin (but receive Economy service).
These domestic Boeing 747 flights are running because Qantas needs to position the aircraft for Antarctic sightseeing charter flights.

QANTAS B747-438 VH-OEB (CN 25778)                 File Photo

On the 4th June Qantas retired its oldest Boeing 747 and the only remaining jumbo jet not to have been upgraded with a modern interior. VH-OEB (CN 25778) named Philip Island, operated its last commercial flight last Sunday as QF73 from Sydney to San Francisco. This aircraft, which is also the oldest in the entire Qantas fleet, will turn 27 years old next week.

VH-OEB was the only remaining Qantas 747-400 not to have been refurbished with lie-flat Business seats and upgraded in-flight entertainment systems. This aircraft was also unique for its 14 older-style First Class seats fitted inside the nose of the lower deck. Shortly after landing in San Francisco last Sunday, VH-OEB positioned to Los Angeles. QF6021 Departed SFO at 6:10pm  and landed LAX 7:16pm
OEB stayed in LAX for four days, then on the 06th Jun 2019 QF6021 Departed Los Angeles (LAX) at 9.40am and landed in Tupelo (TUP) at 2:53pm

There are now just seven Boeing 747s left in the Qantas fleet. The remaining jumbo jets have been refurbished and are all less than 20 years old. Nonetheless, Qantas plans to retire all of these planes by 2020.


Below is are the seven that are left.

MSN              Type                    Delivery date      Registration     Aircraft Name 

25566   747-438       24/01/2000  VH-OJU  Named Lord Howe Island
32909   747-438ER  06/12/2002  VH-OEE Named Nullarbor
32910   747-438ER  31/10/2002  VH-OEF Named Sydney
32911   747-438ER  20/12/2002  VH-OEG Named Parkes
32912   747-438ER  09/02/2003  VH-OEH Named Hervey Bay
32913   747-438ER  26/06/2003  VH-OEI  Named Ceduna
32914   747-438ER  30/07/2003  VH-OEJ  Named Wunala

Parts of this story was sourced from here
https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/catch-qantas-747s-domestic-flights/