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:

Qantas new A330 Domestic Business Class

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

Qantas A380 Business Class review

and the addition of 35 Premium Economy seats in a 2-3-2 configuration:

Qantas A380 Premium Economy
Qantas A380 Premium Economy review

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.

Cathay Pacific First Class
Fly Cathay Pacific First Class to Beijing or Tokyo

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.

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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 SydneyDepart Hong Kong
13-15 December10 December
21 December12-14 December
11 January17-18 December
15 January23 December
17-19 January1 January
22-27 January8 January
22 January
25 January

and one or two open Business Class seats on:

Depart SydneyDepart Hong Kong
16 December14 December
18 January16 December
20 January30 December
24-26 January22 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:

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.

ProgramPremium EconomyBusiness
Alaska Airlines Mileage PlanN/AN/A
American Airlines AAdvantageN/A40,000
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles30,00045,000
Qantas Points45,000/51,30060,000/68,400
British Airways Avios50,00077,250

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.

Great availability in Qantas Premium Economy and Business from Sydney to Hong Kong over summer was last modified: January 5th, 2021 by Matt Moffitt