Qantas to ax Dubai flights, boost Asian presence with Perth-London launch

Qantas Thursday said it would ax its Melbourne-Dubai-London flights operated in partnership with Emirates and switch the capacity to Asia when it launches non-stop Perth-London flights next year. The move is part of a strategy of cutting the journey time to London to gain an edge and pricing premium over the two dozen rivals offering one-stop flights on the so-called Kangaroo route. Qantas will charge a premium of as much as 48% in economy class and 62% in business class relative to one-stop rivals like Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines on the Perth-London route in return for saving three hours of travel time, according to online price comparisons. Qantas CE Alan Joyce has said his airline could be operating non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London within five years as Airbus and Boeing introduce longer-range aircraft. The 17-hour Perth-London flight on a Boeing 787-9 will originate and end in Melbourne and will not be subject to heightened security checks for Middle Eastern flights as a result. It will cut more than an hour off the flying time from Melbourne to London relative to the current route through Dubai, Qantas said.<br/>