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Qantaslink Airbus A220-300
Booking the Flight & Cost of the Flight
This flight was part of a multicity booking, which was booked as a 'red e-deal' economy class ticket. An Economy 'Red E-Deal' ticket between Melbourne and Canberra starts from about $190, an Economy 'Flex' can go for $552, or 'Points Plus Pay' in Economy Class takes 8,000 Qantas frequent flyer points and $68. To barely experience a slight bit of luxury in Business class, the Business Class ticket costs $450, or Points Plus Pay is 18,400 Qantas frequent flyer points and $68. Each ticket's inclusions and frequent flyer rewards differ based on the ticket utilised. The ticket was purchased using Qantas' website, which is fairly straightforward to use and easy to navigate but I found that the website can be a little bit slow to load some things at times.
Operating Aircraft
The newest aircraft in Qantas' entire fleet; Airbus A220-300 VH-X4B, was this flight's operating aircraft. The plane carries the name Koala. The aircraft's age was not even one year old at the time of this flight. The aircraft was delivered brand new to Qantaslink in January 2024, and inaugurated the type's operations with the airline at the start of March 2024. The aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW1524G-3 engines. The aircraft was very new, and this was reflected with the aircraft being very clean and no signs of wear and tear.
Cabin
The cabin on this Airbus A220-300 was very clean and well maintained. The aircraft is brand new, and this was definitely showing. It was quite quiet inside the cabin, despite the flight being full. There was mood lighting as well in the cabin which was changed throughout the flight, which looks very nice indeed.
Seating
For this flight I selected seat 28F. There are 137 seats in total onboard the Qantaslink Airbus A220-300. There are three rows (1-3) in business class in a 2-2 configuration (ten business class seats total), the seats are Recaro leather recliner seats with a seat pitch of 37 inches and a seat width of 20 inches. Row 3 misses seasts on the port side of the aircraft, and the layout appears staggered. The remaining 127 seats are in economy class and are in a 2-3 configuration. These seats are made of fabric and feature 18 inches of seat width and between 30 to 34 inches of seat pitch. The layout is staggered at the front of the aircraft but seats line up the further down the aircraft they are. Row 29 only has two seats on the port side, the three seats on the other side do not exist. I found my seat to be very comfortable, both materially and space-wise. Even though this was in the last row on the starboard side, the seat reclined enough as well.
Inflight Customer Service
Qantaslink flight attendants provided the service. They were a very bubbly, friendly and passionate young team who appeared jappy and excited to be crew on the airline's new toy. They took great interest with my photography and excitement to fly on this aircraft. The pilots were just as great and were happy to let me have a look in the cockpit and have a little chat about the aircraft as well.
Inflight Entertainment
There was a safety card and air-sickness bag on hand in the seat pocket, as well as the airline's inflight magazine. Qantaslink does not provide any seatback or overhead TVs. There is an app for the airline for streamimg in flight entertainment purposes and there was inflight Wi-Fi, which is free for use. Rach seat is fitted with USB ports. There seems to be at least something for all passengers in terms of inflight entertainment from streaming services and internet access, reading the magazine or enjoiyng the new plane smell. The aircraft had not been in service for more than a month and I was thrilled to be able to fly on this new aircraft type, a first for Australian aviation.
Photos
The operating aircraft sitting at terminal 1 gate 7 being loaded up for the flight to Australia's capital city
Business class seats
Economy class seats
Legroom
Seat 28F
Taxiing to the runway for takeoff
Takeoff from runway 34
Cabin
Inflight snack
Qantaslink Airbus A220-300 lavatory
Inflight at 33,000 feet
The Airbus A220 winglet looks quite nice with the vibrant Qantas logo
Cabin, viewed from the rear of the aircraft
Mood lighting in the cabin changed on descent
Descending into Canberra Airport
Turning onto final approach
Landing on runway 35
Landing on runway 35, captured by Morgan Wimborne
Taxiing to the gate
Docked at gate 9
Views whilst disembarking
Heading back to Melbourne as flight QF1271
Final Verdict
The brand new Qantaslink Airbus A220-300 was amazing. The aircraft was very clean, and the seat that I had down the very back of the aircraft was very comfortable. Compared to mainline Qantas' Boeing 737-800, this aircraft is far more superior in many areas. The inflight entertainment offerings are pretty much standard Qantas offering by now, the snack was more than enough for this very short hop and the flight crew were amazing. I look forward to my next ride on the Qantaslink Airbus A220-300, which will be starting to be seen more often as the type starts to enter service over the next few years. A ride on this aircraft is one to be highly anticipated, you are in for a treat. At the moment these aircraft are used solely between Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, but more destinations in the network will see these aircraft as the Boeing 717-200 is gradually retired, much to every Australian avgeek's sadness.
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