Qantas says ‘Bonjour’ to Perth-Paris flights

The Red Roo has bid ‘Salut’ to the French capital by launching nonstop flights between Perth and Paris ahead of the Olympics and European summer holidays.

The Boeing 787 flights will initially run four-weekly until mid-August, when Qantas will dial it down to a thrice-weekly, year-round service. This contrasts with the seasonal Perth-Rome flights, which run only three times a week from June to October.

The flights go via Qantas’ international pier at Perth’s Terminal 3/4, offering easy connections to and from Qantas’ domestic flight network. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson says the airline is thrilled to put Paris back on the Qantas map.

There is a lot of excitement amongst our customers and crew that Qantas is returning to Paris and that it’s a non-stop flight between Perth and Paris.

With these new flights, our customers can depart Perth in the evening and arrive in Paris in time to enjoy brunch overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

– Vanessa Hudson, Qantas CEO, 14 July 2024

Pre-flight lounging at Perth International

If you can relax in the Qantas Perth International Lounge, take note of a limited-time French-themed menu. Enjoy bites such as succulent lamb shops, grilled garlic prawns, beef tartare and more, along with the usual BBQ and buffet fare. The Paris Spritz is a refreshing way to wash it all down.

I tried the lamb chops and beef bourguignon.

Some of the menu options on 14 July 2024.

Look out for roaming plates of the grilled lamb chops.

I really enjoyed the garlic prawns as well.

QF33 Inflight experience

Qantas’ trusty Boeing 787 flies between Perth and Paris. Onboard, you’ll find 42 Business Class seats, 28 Premium Economy seats and a relatively small Economy section with 166 seats.

There’s a full dinner service after take-off, followed by snacks throughout the flight and breakfast before arrival. In Business Class, dinner highlights include bouillabaisse of snapper and Skull Island prawns, coq au vin with pancetta, mushroom and potato puree, and a rum savarin with Chantilly cream and berries.

We haven’t had the chance to review Premium Economy or Economy yet, but that’s something on the cards for later.

QF33 and QF34 schedule

QF33 initially departs Sydney at 1:55 pm on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, calling into Perth at 5 pm local time. After a 155-minute stop, QF33 continues non-stop to Paris at 7:35 pm, arriving at 6:55 am the next day – a flight of 17 hours and 20 minutes.

The return flight, QF34, leaves Paris at 9:55 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. After flying for a shorter 16 hours and 35 minutes, it lands back in Perth at 8:30 am the following morning. QF34 then continues its final tag leg to Sydney, pushing back at 10:00 am and touching down in Sydney at 4:05 pm.

From mid-August, the Sunday departure from Australia (and the return Monday departure from Paris) will be trimmed. However, the flights will continue year-round.

Qantas flies into Paris CDG Terminal 2A, where its departing lounge-worthy passengers can use the shared Paul Maxence lounge. You won’t get anywhere if you’re seeking other options within oneworld. The salubrious Qatar Airways Premium Lounge is in Terminal 1, while the American Airlines Admirals Club and the Cathay Pacific Lounge in Terminal 2 are closed until further notice.

Points needed for reward seats

Unfortunately, with such high demand for non-stop flights, securing a Classic Flight Reward seat in any cabin on this flight isn’t easy. The newer Classic Plus seats are in higher supply and have a higher points cost attached. If you do manage to come across a fixed-price Classic Flight Reward, here’s what you’ll need to part with:

Platinum frequent flyer members and higher can request the release of Classic Flight Reward seats.

Summing up

Qantas still hasn’t offered any significant release of reward seats on the new Perth-Paris route. As it’s launching just ahead of the Olympics, demand is sky-high. Gold frequent flyer members and higher travelling in a lower cabin class on a cash fare might find more luck requesting an upgrade with Qantas Points.

Those looking to spice up their Perth-Sydney commute can book the domestic tag legs of QF33 and QF34 on the days they depart. The main benefit for Platinum frequent flyer members is access to the Qantas International First Lounge in Sydney. Conversely, Qantas Club members and Qantas Gold (and higher) frequent flyer members can enjoy breakfast in the Qantas International Lounge in Perth T3/T4.

However, the cost of this is that Qantas has now trimmed back QF9/10 to become a Perth-London route only, scrapping the Melbourne-Perth and its return Perth-Melbourne domestic tag leg on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Qantas’ latest route is another high-profile launch. Now that Qantas and Perth Airport’s relationship is on the mend, we could see the return of other routes, such as Perth-Johannesburg, resulting in more options for its passengers. But there is a bottleneck – the Red Roo can’t seem to get new aircraft fast enough.

Ground photography by Brandon Loo and mid-flight photography by Daniel Sciberras, unless otherwise noted. Daniel travelled to Paris as a guest of Qantas. Brandon attended the Perth launch as a guest of Qantas.