Key Details

Date: 25th January 2023

Flight No: QF2360

Route: Townsville to Cairns

Aircraft: DHC Dash 8-400

Cabin: Economy

The Route

The route between Townsville and Cairns is one of the most frequented regional routes in Queensland and plays a vital role in connecting the two major commercial hubs and population centers of North Queensland. Despite been only 350km or around 4 hours by road and easily connected also by train and bus flying remains a popular way to journey between the two north Queensland cities. QantasLink are the primary operator on the route operating typically around 5 daily return services with their DHC Dash 8-400 aircraft. REX on the otherhand service the route with a thrice weekly service on their SAAB 340 aircraft. In either case expect flight time to be around an hour on there respective turboprop aircraft.

Pricing on the route typically seems to be fairly stable although those wanting the most cost effective way to travel between the two cities would be best to consider the Sprit of Queensland train which costs just $50 or a scheduled bus service. Cash fares are typically around $150-$200 each way although reward availability is generally widespread available on Qantas in which case a seat will cost you 8000 points +$44 tax.

Checking in at Townsville

Check in for Qantas and QantasLink flights out of Townsville can be easily found at the terminal’s main check in area. Townsville Airport’s check in area is still more of the traditional style so you will still need to visit a manned check in counter to drop of your bags. On our arrival to the airport during the late morning it was fairly quiet so we were assisted in sending our bags of within a matter of just a few moments.

Once checked in and bags tagged on there way, security at Townsville is easy with the latest CT scanners installed ensuring you do not have to remove laptops and large electronics from your bags. A few minutes later we were already airside.

Qantas Club at Townsville Airport

On today’s flight despite flying economy I’ve still got access to Townsville Airport’s Qantas Club courtesy of a Complimentary Lounge Invitation coming my way through being granted membership of the Qantas Points Club Program. Qantas Frequent Flyers with status including and above Gold will also have access to this lounge regardless of which cabin they are flying There is however no business lounge at Townsville so all eligible lounge passengers are directed to the same lounge.

Overall, the Qantas Club in Townsville provides a pretty solid experience for regional lounge standards with most of the key features of a flagship capital city Qantas Club available without the crowds and bustle of a huge lounge. The lounge ticks all the right boxes providing a place to eat, drink, relax and work before your next flight out of Cairns or or elsewhere. In testament of how decent this lounge I spent more time relaxing in the lounge than actually on board my flight for the dash up to Cairns (no pun intended!) One recommendation for improvement would simply be for Qantas to revisit it opening hours and look at it keeping it open continuously from first to last Qantas service considering Townsville is an important regional hub for Qantas in Northern Australia with plenty of daily departures. You can read our full in-depth review on the lounge here.

Seating in Economy Class

QantasLink operates 3 types of Dash 8 aircraft in its fleet of which the Dash 8-400 variant that we are flying today is its largest. All three variants offer an economy only configuration of which the aircraft taking us to Cairns has a total of 74 seats in a 2-2 configuration. As one might expect for a regional turboprop aircraft legroom isn’t exactly spacious at around 31in seat pitch and 17in width but for short flights it should be fine for most people.

The seats themselves come in a fairly well worn leather material and despite showing there age are overall quite comfortable. Expect a fairly stock standard but more than functional fold back tray table as well.

Inflight Service and Food and Beverage

On today’s flight the crew did a great job to pump out a snack and beverage service to all passengers on the flight despite a very short cruising time of probably around 20 minutes. On this mid afternoon service we were offered a tasty snack platter consisting of small portions of cheese, crackers, olives and nuts which was paired with a complimentary bottle of water and your choice of tea, coffee, beer, wine or soft drink. Overall this was an excellent in flight service for such an incredibly short flight so full marks to the QantasLink crew here!

In Flight Entertainment

QantasLink Dash 8 aircraft do not have any in-flight seat back entertainment nor Qantas’s inflight streaming service or complimentary Wi-Fi. You’ll have to wait until next time you are flying on an international Qantas service or on a Boeing or Airbus aircraft domestically. That being said, you do have the Qantas inflight magazine to read and on such a short flight off the coast of tropical North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef the real entertainment should be gazing out the window taking in those spectacular views!

Arriving in Cairns

We arrived into a busy Cairns Airport on time as scheduled. Despite being the middle of the wet season it was a very smooth flight and we came into Cairns amidst largely sunny skies and calm landing conditions allowing for some beautiful views over Trinity Bay on our final descent into Cairns. After only around 15 minutes my bags had arrived at the carousel which seems to be a little bit quicker than the major capital city airports and moments later I was in a Taxi to the CBD which is less than a 10 minutes drive away. Overall a very seamless arrival into Cairns Airport

Summing Up

Overall this afternoon’s flight with QantasLink was a really enjoyable one although one genuinely should consider both the economics and even efficiency of taking the route when driving, getting the train or taking the bus is likely to be a such more cost effective option. Sure flying is easily the quickest way to cover the 350km but likely some of this time saving will be eaten up by travelling to and from the airport and arriving early so it pays to consider your circumstances, budget and time permitting. For us chalking up 8,000pts and $44 in taxes actually turned out to be cheaper than getting the train and having complimentary access to food and drinks at the Qantas Club beforehand really made it the best option on the day for me.

In terms of the flight itself, the service was really good despite there only been around 20 minutes of cruising time a snack and beverage service was still delivered which was quite impressive. The seating itself isn’t mind-blowing but for a short sub 1 hour flight was more than fine and the lack of any really entertainment options proved no issues when there was such great scenery outside the window.

All in all a very solid experience on QantasLink on this afternoon’s flight up to Cairns.