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A roundup of some of the latest news doing the rounds. Includes news of Qantas’ changes to some of its US routes, the latest information we have on the delivery date of Qatar Airways’ new A350-1000 (complete with QSuites), news of a new Hyatt property to be opened in the heart of Hollywood and details of Ethiopian’s latest route to the US.
Qatar Airways A350-1000 Delivery
Qatar Airways is the launch customer for the Airbus A350-1000 but, thanks to issues the airline has been having with the installation of the Business Class QSuites into the aircraft, delivery of the first A350-1000 has been delayed.
Not only has the delivery of the aircraft been delayed but there are a number of unknowns too. We don’t yet have any indication from Qatar Airways what routes the aircraft will fly as part of crew training/familiarization and we have little idea what long-haul route the airline has picked out to be the aircraft’s first.
Image courtesy of Airbus
Now, hopefully, we’re getting closer to being given some answers as Reuters has reported that Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker has mentioned a delivery timescale.
While a test A350-1000 was visiting Doha over the weekend Al-Baker told reporters that he expects to finally take delivery of the new A350-1000 “between 15 and 20 February 2018”.
This would suggest that we should be getting information on the first routes the aircraft will fly any day now….. that means the latest route to offer the Qatar Airways QSuites should soon be revealed.
Qantas Adds More 787 Service To The US
As Qantas takes delivery of more 787-9 Dreamliners it’s deploying the aircraft on some of its longest routes.
In March the new Dreamliner will offer the first non-stop service between Australia and Europe when the Perth – London route is launched and now the airline is sending more Dreamliners to the US.
Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner Flight Deck
We’ve known since last October that the Boeing 747 aircraft that currently operate the Brisbane – Los Angeles route will be replaced by the more efficient 787-9 Dreamliners and we also know that these Dreamliners will then carry on from Los Angeles to New York JFK replacing the 747s that operate that add-on service.
But we didn’t know when this would all happen or what the schedule would look like…until now.
In a recent schedule update Qantas has rostered its 787-9 Dreamliners on the Brisbane – LA – New York route and this is what the schedule looks like:
From 1 September 2018 the plan is for the Brisbane – LAX route to be operated 10x/week with 7 of those frequencies being operated by Dreamliners.
QF015 BNE 10:10 – 06:00 LAX (Daily 787-9 service)
QF055 BNE 17:50 – 13:30 LAX (747 service on Mon, Thu & Sat)
QF056 LAX 22:15 – 05:00+2 days BNE (747 service on Mon, Thu & Sat)
QF016 LAX2 3:20 – 06:05+2 day BNE (Daily 787-9 service)
Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner Premium Economy
From 12 November 2018 the inefficient 747 aircraft are dropped from the route completely (replaced by Dreamliners) and, from 7 December 2018, the route frequency is upped to 11 flights/week on the following schedule:
QF015 BNE 11:20 – 06:00 LAX (Daily)
QF055 BNE 17:15 – 11:55 LAX (Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat)
QF056 LAX 21:05 – 05:00+2 days BNE (Mon, Thu, Fri & Sat
QF016 LAX 23:20 – 07:15+2 days BNE (Daily)
As far as the LAX – New York JFK part of the route goes, not much changes except that, from 1 September 2018, it will be operated by a 787-9 Dreamliner rather than a 747.
QF011 LAX 08:20 – 16:40 JFK (Daily)
QF012 JFK 18:10 – 21:00 LAX (Daily)
[HT: Airline Route for the scheduling]
Hyatt Will Open A New Property In Hollywood, CA.
Hyatt has announced that it has entered into a franchise agreement to build a new 64-room boutique hotel in the heart of Hollywood.
The new property will be located at 1525 N. Cahuenga Blvd a short walk from both Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards.
The location puts the property close to the center of Hollywood night life and an easy walk to Hollywood & Vine where Starwood’s W Hotel is.
Here’s what Hyatt has to say about the property which is expected to open next year (2019):
A commercial, cultural, and entertainment destination, the Hollywood location will deliver on The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand promise of creating story-worthy and shareable experiences for modern travelers. In addition to its 39 guest rooms and 24 suites, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt hotel will feature a variety of food and beverage experiences, including a ground-level restaurant, street-front lounge, and rooftop pool deck and lounge. The hotel will cater to both leisure and business travelers seeking an upscale, lively hotel experience in the heart of vibrant Hollywood.
It’s about time we saw some Hyatt expansion in Los Angeles as, after losing the Grand Hyatt in Century City, the chain has been left with the Andaz West Hollywood as the only non airport property in LA.
Ethiopian Schedules Its New Chicago Service
There were murmurings from Ethiopian last November which suggested that the airline was planning to launch service between Addis Ababa and Chicago at some point in 2018. With the airline already offering a service to Los Angeles (via Dublin) this wasn’t an entirely surprising development although nothing has been firmed up until now.
In its latest schedule update Ethiopian has indicated that it will be launching its new service to Chicago from 2 June 2018.
While the outbound flight to Chicago will be stopping off in Dublin before continuing on to the Windy City, the return flight to Addis Ababa is scheduled to be non-stop.
Here’s the schedule per Airline Route:
ET510 ADD 22:15 – 04:25+1 day DUB 05:25+1 day – 07:55+1 ORD (Tue, Thu & Sat)
ET511 ORD 09:55 – 07:40+1 day ADD (Wed, Fri & Sun)
The route will be operated by Ethiopian’s 787-8 Dreamliners and, at 7,577 miles in length, the Chicago – Addis Ababa flight will be one of the longest ones around.
Ethiopian is a Star Alliance partner airline so you can use miles from United MileagePlus, Aeroplan and LifeMiles to book awards…..some of which are available to book right now.
