Qantas to kick-off search for B737 replacement

Qantas will later this year formally start the process to find a replacement of its current fleet of 75 B737-800s which are the backbone of the airline's domestic fleet. According to the airline's CEO, the time to buy new aircraft is now as prices are very low due to the Corona-pandemic.

Under consideration are the two usual suspects; the A320neo-family from Airbus and the B737MAX-family from Boeing. The Qantas Group already has outstanding orders for 45 A320neos and 64 A321neos (including the LR and XLR). So far, the Group hasn't said to which airlines these will be delivered, but it's expected that these will mainly go to subsidiaries JetStar (including JetStar Asia) and Network Aviation.

The replacement of the B737-fleet will be Qantas's second large project next to Project Sunrise which envisions non-stop long-haul flying between Australia and destinations in Europe and the US. The airline hopes to start these flights in 2024 and is considering ordering up to twelve A350-1000s.

Photo by Gavin Hughes, kindly provided by AirHistory.net