With a temporary upgrade to the A380 superjumbo on this busy route, Qantas has released lots of Premium Economy award seats and a batch of lie-flat Business seats during December and January.
In this guide, we outline what to expect from your seat, which days you can find availability on, how to book a seat, and where to go once you are in Hong Kong.
The aircraft and cabins
For most of the year, Qantas operates this 9½-hour-or-so flight with a combination of updated Airbus A330 (just Business and Economy) and older Boeing 747 aircraft (includes Premium Economy too).
This is Business Class on the A330, which is one of the best uses of Qantas Points:
During the peak summer travel period, Qantas usually upgrades to Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 aircraft to accommodate for more demand, featuring more than double the amount of (albeit older) Business Class seats:
Qantas A380 Business Class review
and the addition of 35 Premium Economy seats in a 2-3-2 configuration:
Learn more about what to expect in our guide to how to use Qantas Points for Premium Economy redemptions.
The A380 also features First Class seats but they are reserved for upgrades for Qantas elites and are not available for purchase or award redemptions on this seasonal service.
The Airbus A380 will serve the route from 10 December 2017 until 1 March 2018.
Once in Hong Kong, you may consider using 56,000 Qantas Points to fly Cathay Pacific First Class around Asia.
Lounge access
Business Class travellers and those with status will gain access to the substandard Qantas International Business Lounge in Sydney and the much better Qantas Hong Kong Lounge on the return.
Award availability
As of 2am Sydney time on 18 August, I have found at least two but often three open Premium Economy seats on the following dates:
| Depart Sydney | Depart Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| 13-15 December | 10 December |
| 21 December | 12-14 December |
| 11 January | 17-18 December |
| 15 January | 23 December |
| 17-19 January | 1 January |
| 22-27 January | 8 January |
| 22 January | |
| 25 January |
and one or two open Business Class seats on:
| Depart Sydney | Depart Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| 16 December | 14 December |
| 18 January | 16 December |
| 20 January | 30 December |
| 24-26 January | 22 January |
| 25 January |
I only searched until the end of January, so following this trend, it is likely that there is award availability on other days until the A380 service is scheduled to end.
How to book using your points
The five main points currencies Australia-based travellers can use on Qantas flights are:
- Qantas Points
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- American Airlines AAdvantage miles
- British Airways Avios
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles (not available for Qantas redemptions to Asia; only Cathay Pacific)
Following is a comparison of one-way award pricing on this route. Note that the figures for Qantas Frequent Flyer are for bookings made before/after 18 September 2019.
| Program | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | N/A | N/A |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | N/A | 40,000 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 30,000 | 45,000 |
| Qantas Points | 45,000/51,300 | 60,000/68,400 |
| British Airways Avios | 50,000 | 77,250 |
Important notes:
You can search for award space on the Qantas website.
Summing up
Finding award seats over holiday periods is quite difficult, so with the upgrade of this route to a larger aircraft, those in the know should snap up award availability now if the destination and dates work with your travel plans.
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