Qantas A380s to return next year

Qantas has released its strategy for gradually restarting international flights. The airline expects to be able to launch these flights again from December onwards based on the pace of vaccinations in Australia. Initially, Qantas will focus on destinations with high vaccination rates, with focus on Japan, Singapore, the UK and the US.

By mid-2022 the airline will return at least five A380s back to duty to meet the high demand to London and Los Angeles (CA). Qantas has also announced it will retire two of its twelve A380s but will fly the type for many years to come. To underline this, the airline recently ferried A380 VH-OQB (015) from storage at Los Angeles (CA) to Dresden where it will be receiving its cabin upgrade. Qantas plans to have all of its ten A380s refurbished and back in service before the end of 2024.

Another bit of interesting fleet news is that the airline is working with Airbus to increase the range of some of its A330-200s. This will enable it to operate the type on the Brisbane-Los Angeles (CA) and Brisbane-San Francisco (CA) routes and rightsize demand and capacity.

Photo by Qantas.