Qantas plans A330-replacements, accelerates A380 reactivation

According to Reuters, Qantas is set to run a tendering process in which the airline is seeking replacement aircraft for its Airbus A330s. It expects the total process to take twelve to eighteen months before an actual order will be placed. Currently, Qantas has 28 A330s in the fleet, consisting of eighteen A330-200s (with an average age of 14 years) and ten A330-300s (with an averaga age of eighteen years).

The A330-replacement is the second large fleet renewal plan the airline is conducting. In May 2022, the airline ended its narrowbody-replacement plans by signing firm orders with Airbus for 20 A220-300s and 20 A321XLRs and adding 94 purchase options for the two types. Next to these, Qantas also ordered twelve A350-1000s for use on ultra-long non-stop flights.

In order to cope with the boom in passenger demand, Qantas has also decided to accelerate the reactivation of the A380 and now plans to have all ten in service before the end of next year, one year earlier than originally planned. Today, the airline operates five A380s.

Qantas has also said that it's expecting its final three B787-9s on order in 2023. The Dreamliners are already produced but have been stored due to the delivery issues Boeing had with the aircraft. Once delivered, the airline's B787-fleet will total fourteen B787-9s.

Photo by Anton Homma.