Qantas has announced that it will move forward its Airbus A380 retirement by four years, and they’ll now be phased out as of 2028. If you’re like me, and are a fan of the A380, that’s obviously bad news. I should also mention that if you don’t like paying a fortune for airfare, it’s also bad news. Let me explain.
Separately, I’ve covered the other passenger experience news from the airline, including plans to introduce new business class suites on both Boeing 787s and Airbus A321XLRs.
In this post:
Qantas retiring A380s, replacing them with A350s
Qantas has a fleet of 10 Airbus A380s, which are an average of around 17 years old. The airline stored these for a few years during the pandemic, and actually only recently reactivated the last A380, so the fleet sure saw an interruption in service.
Up until now, Qantas’ plan has been to start retiring the A380s as of 2032. However, the airline has now decided to move forward that timeline by four years, to 2028. The idea is that the process will start then, though it remains to be seen how quickly they all leave the fleet. I’d guess it’ll probably take at least a couple of years, but who knows.
Why did Qantas decide to move forward its A380 retirement? Interestingly, the airline isn’t citing high jet fuel costs, but instead, is giving the following two reasons:
- Increasing operational risks and maintenance costs due to supply chain challenges with the A380 fleet, given that the plane is no longer in production
- Confidence in the delivery schedule of new wide body aircraft, including Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s, which allows the airline to better fleet plan
In terms of its wide body order book, Qantas is currently expecting 24 Airbus A350-1000s (half of which are “ULRs”), four Boeing 787-9s, and eight Boeing 787-10s. The intent is for the A380s to primarily be replaced by the A350s. This is separate from the half dozen A350s that will be used for “Project Sunrise” flights, from Sydney to London and New York.
Beyond Qantas, there are nine A380 airline operators — All Nippon Airways, Asiana, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines.
Qantas is bragging about higher A350 ticket costs
Qantas is making it pretty clear that the Airbus A380s will be replaced by the premium configured Airbus A350-1000s. The capacity adjustment between these planes is absolutely massive, as it will be reduced by well over 50%:
- Qantas Airbus A380s feature 485 seats, including 14 first class seats, 70 business class seats, 60 premium economy seats, and 341 economy seats
- Qantas Airbus A350-1000s (at least the first batch) will feature 238 seats, including six first class seats, 52 business class seats, 40 premium economy seats, and 140 economy seats
Airline pricing is largely a function of supply and demand, and as you’d expect, the less capacity you offer, the more you can charge per seat. Here we’re not just talking about a small capacity decrease either.
In laying out the case to investors for retiring the A380, Qantas gives the example of a flight between Sydney (SYD) and Dallas (DFW). With the plane swap, the airline is expecting a 10% increase in unit revenue, and a 12% increase in contribution margin per departure.
So Qantas’ goals here aren’t really a secret. 10% unit revenue growth means the airline wants to increase fares by an average of 10%. Admittedly those increases won’t be the same in all cabins, and I imagine in economy, we’re going to see the biggest increases, given the 60% reduction in capacity.
Bottom line
Qantas has announced that it will retire Airbus A380s as of 2028, instead of the initially planned timeline of 2032. The airline is making this decision due to increasing maintenance costs and challenges with these planes, plus improved certainty with future aircraft deliveries.
Qantas’ plan is to replace A380s with A350s. That might not sound so bad, except those planes have under half as many seats, and the airline hopes that this will lead to a 10% increase in unit revenue. So expect your tickets will cost more.
What do you make of Qantas’ A380 retirement plans?
The decision to ground the A380s is not that surprising. They are mainly used on the London and DFW and LAX routes. As more costly aircraft to operate, they need premium traffic to make them profitable. But on the London routes, premium passengers are going to take the non-stop A350ULRs, so the revenue per flight of the A380s is likely to decline.
I have no expertise or inside information, but I wonder if the decreased seats by removing the 380 might be matched by new routes. Not that long ago, your mainland US to Australia flights on QF were mostly LAX and SFO. You're now seeing DFW, LAS, and JFK (one stop now). I think the non-ULR 35Ms can do SYD-ORD. Since, I suspect, most of the DFW/SYD traffic doesn't start/stop in DFW, having two routes between...
I have no expertise or inside information, but I wonder if the decreased seats by removing the 380 might be matched by new routes. Not that long ago, your mainland US to Australia flights on QF were mostly LAX and SFO. You're now seeing DFW, LAS, and JFK (one stop now). I think the non-ULR 35Ms can do SYD-ORD. Since, I suspect, most of the DFW/SYD traffic doesn't start/stop in DFW, having two routes between SYD/ORD and SYD/DFW on two 35Ms offers a better connections for some and more seats than a 380.
I've only flown the 380 in coach, except for one J short Emirates hop. It possesses none of the nostalgia I had for the 747. It's just a failed concept.
I disagree.
I love flying in a 380 because the flights are so smooth because of its size. I also like having two separate boarding entrances.
The cabin also seems bigger regardless of what class I booked.
Also, I note that QF has previously sad 2 789s flying one after the other LAX-SYD would have the same number if seats as a 380, but a lower tital cost. Based on that, it might be cheaper to fly a 35M SYD-DFW and another, say, SYD-ORD, have more total seats and better logistics/connections that a sole SYD-DFW 380. Of course, that eats another slot at SYD, but the opening of Sydney's new airport (WSI) may reduce that problem.
It will be a sad day when the A380s go. And I say that as a diehard 747 fan
I agree. Getting on/off a 380 is a pain, but the quiet environment and space inside per passenger are unrivalled. Which means that ORD_Is_My.... is a muppet :)
Have a trip planned with QF on their a380 and 787 (and a220, though, that last one is technically operated by QantasLink). Glad to have specifically picked the a380 to be able to try it one more time before this retirement. It's sad to think there'll soon be a time in commercial aviation with just single-level aircraft. Double-decker comrades, enjoy these a380 (and 747) while they last!
No sane Australian who pays for their own tickets flies Qantas off this island. Unfortunately we are stuck with them if we want to get around it. Their pricing power is criminal as is their regulatory power. If we had any sense we’d have them up before the National Anti Corruption Commission for all the freebies they dole out to pollies; except that was formed without any real teeth.
It is exactly the same in Canada.
We have a crappy airline that we are stuck with and OPM flyers love
Based in the US and needing connections to the cities with Australia flights, I only end up on QF TPAC flights as an AA codeshare. In those cases, the fare is fair. While I pay for F on domestic US trips, within Australia I find F (OK, business in QF terms) to be a crazy high addition. I do typically fly QF domestically, as they're competitive with Virgin, and they give me an extra 9 kilos (32kg instead of 23kg) on my checked bag as an AA gold.
Most Australians already fly Singapore Airlines and Emirates for long hauls, so the doings of that once great airline called Qantas will be of minimal concern to the average flier from Down Under. There's a reason why SQ is called the nation's "Unofficial Carrier" - and has carried that title for many years..On a personal note, it's been sad witnessing firsthand the downfall of QF since I took my first flight with the airline in...
Most Australians already fly Singapore Airlines and Emirates for long hauls, so the doings of that once great airline called Qantas will be of minimal concern to the average flier from Down Under. There's a reason why SQ is called the nation's "Unofficial Carrier" - and has carried that title for many years..On a personal note, it's been sad witnessing firsthand the downfall of QF since I took my first flight with the airline in 1980. It's gone from an airline I actively sought out, to an airline I only grudgingly fly when there are no feasible options.
Qantas is already so expensive, it will be the most expensive airline in the world on average.
This should make Chinese and ME carriers happy, increase capacity and watch the planes fill up.
The ME need a boost, since the war in the region earlier this year spooked away all their customers. In March-May, you could not have paid be to connect via DOH/DXB/AUH. Hopefully, the situation continues to improve, but all it takes is a single drone to mess it all up again. See KWI.
Whilst comparing the A380 with the Airbus A350 ULR there will be an over 50% reduction in seating with the more standard configuration the reduction will be less plus an increase in frequency may also take place
As someone who works on the A380 in many ways I will be sad to see her go.
The space available onboard for passengers and crew is unrivalled. I can honestly say that passengers seem more content on the 380 operated flights I work on regardless of the class of travel, primarily down to it being so roomy.
The downside of working on it is the poor operational reliability. Technical issues, things breaking down in...
As someone who works on the A380 in many ways I will be sad to see her go.
The space available onboard for passengers and crew is unrivalled. I can honestly say that passengers seem more content on the 380 operated flights I work on regardless of the class of travel, primarily down to it being so roomy.
The downside of working on it is the poor operational reliability. Technical issues, things breaking down in the cabin are constant compared to the other types I work on and take longer to be fixed.
@Duck Ling. Couldn't agree more. Took two Singapore Airlines economy flights last year, one on 777 and the other on an A380. The difference in comfort was massive, from legroom to actually fall asleep with legs stretched out, to bigger toilets and space to walk about at the back. Will be sad to see any of these big birds being retired.
Terrible. But all know in the next two years something will slow down the delivery of the new A350-1000, something happens and the 777x it's the cats meow and they are being delivered to all the airlines beyond fast so Quantas decides to keep the A350-1000 at bay to see if it likes the 777X. So what do they do in that in-between decision time is keep the A380s flying till 2032 like planed. Plus...
Terrible. But all know in the next two years something will slow down the delivery of the new A350-1000, something happens and the 777x it's the cats meow and they are being delivered to all the airlines beyond fast so Quantas decides to keep the A350-1000 at bay to see if it likes the 777X. So what do they do in that in-between decision time is keep the A380s flying till 2032 like planed. Plus I'm sure there will be 3 different CEO Switches at Quantas the next 5 years anyways. Delta wanted to get rid of their 767-300er years back but what happened????? The A330neo is coming out of the plant to slow. So the decided to keep them around another 5 years. Any airline that says it's going to get rid of an certain airplane in a 5 year span are usually 99.9% wrong. There are high fuel prices, then low fuel prices or crap like Covid or boeing or airbus claiming a part is now to expensive to buy and assemble, or find out the A380 is a lot cheaper for parts because there are more of them around. It's literally all here say. Anytime an airline claims it's going to retire a plane the next 3 years out add at least another 4 years.
Terrible. But all know in the next two years something will slow down the delivery of the new A350-1000, something happens and the 777x it's the cats meow and they are being delivered to all the airlines beyond fast so Quantas decides to keep the A350-1000 at bay to see if it likes the 777X. So what do they do in that in-between decision time is keep the A380s flying till 2032 like planed. Plus...
Terrible. But all know in the next two years something will slow down the delivery of the new A350-1000, something happens and the 777x it's the cats meow and they are being delivered to all the airlines beyond fast so Quantas decides to keep the A350-1000 at bay to see if it likes the 777X. So what do they do in that in-between decision time is keep the A380s flying till 2032 like planed. Plus I'm sure there will be 3 different CEO Switches at Quantas the next 5 years anyways. Delta wanted to get rid of their 767-300er years back but what happened????? The A330neo is coming out of the plant to slow. So the decided to keep them around another 5 years. Any airline that says it's going to get rid of an certain airplane in a 5 year span are usually 99.9% wrong. There are high fuel prices, then low dual prices that crap like Covid or boring or airbus claiming a part is now to expensive to buy and assemble, or find out the A380 is a lot cheaper for parts because there are more of them around. It's literally all here say. Anytime an airline claims it's going to retire a plane the next 3 years out add at least another 4 years.
Ps so sorry about my spelling l was meaning Qantas obviously my bad!!!!!! I'm by far the worst speller but hopefully you get the just of what lm saying lol
Aren't economy passengers the most price sensitive and so less likely to accept bigger price rises? Wouldn't the higher fares skew to premium pass6for whom price is less of an issue.
The ticket price thing is a nothing burger. Its basically saying less economy seats will increase the average revenue (higher proportion of premium seats with higher fares spread across less total seats).
Similar story with the contribution margin, I think its telling they used DFW as the example as we know they block around 100 seats per flight. Margin will undoubtedly improve drastically provided A) there are more premium seats and B) no seats are blocked.
Sad to see the most restful first class in the world go so soon!
It is absolutely the ugliest plane i have ever seen. I hope they stick to one floor…just keep stretching it. I thought the A340 was gorgeous
Australia needs to revisit its international aviation treaties. If Qantas are going to deliberately slash capacity to create artifical scarcity, then SQ, QR, EK, CX and others should be allowed unlimited access to run international flights to/from Australia, with the current caps being abolished.
SQ, EK and CX are already have unlimited flights. QR should get this as well.
I think you need to do your homework before posting.
Australia has open skies agreements with both Singapore and China.
Which is probably why you will find that Singapore Airlines flies to more cities in Australia than almost any other airline - SIN to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth (all multiple times daily) as well as one of the few airlines that also flies to Adelaide, Darwin and Cairns.
Likewise Cathay.
Hong Kong has a different air treaty to Mainland China. Cathay is limited to 70 weekly flights to the 4 major AUS cities AFAIK.
It’s too costly to operate the A380. Qantas plans to increase fares to make up for fewer seats (in economy).
Bad news for Aussies flying the Kangaroo route to CDG or LHR (Via SIN)
There's always SQ.
I've done LAX-MEL-LAX in the 380, as well as SYD-LAX. Fortunately in F on award receptions. Was it the most amazing F product, no but we really enjoyed it nonetheless. I'll miss the 380s on the US routes.
It's my only long haul F experience, also on an award redemption, I'd do it again, but probably wouldn't pay cash at QF prices. I've flown in all four classes on their A380s and will really miss them. We'll still have A380 options from Australia, just not on TPAC. I'm already flying CX more often now, so I'll probably survive.
Not soon enough for this flatulent fat waddling white whale. Harpoon all of them, now.
Do you feel better now?
No. This abomination is still flying, and its fanboys still try to promote it by badmouthing the Queen. Kill it with fire.
What point are you making here?
Only when he sees the blood dripping from the poor 'roo on the tail !
.... lol