Qantas to phase out A380s

[kookaburra75]

"premiumisation"

Thanks, I thought I was the only one who thought WTF when I saw that.

 

[lovestotravel]

Will anyone else change their plans because of this?

Still 0 plans to fly QF

(With the exception of one more status run to obtain LTS to allows EK F bookings )

 

[MelbFlyer]

The last time I stepped foot on an A380 was with QF back in 2019 on the way back from the U.S..

The tail number was VH-OQG - I was in economy and I could see the plane was aging even back then.

There was tape used to hold panels, the carpets and seat were well worn and the IFE was already dated.

Photo as per below :



Even though there have been some refurbishments over the years - especially the business cabin where they finally retired the Skybeds, at the end of the day, the first QF A380s are now almost 2 decades old.

That along with the economics of flying these days, its no surprise that they're being retired soon.

 

[moa999]

There was tape used to hold panels

I've been on a 2 wk old SQ aircraft with tape.
Stuff breaks, and most stuff isn't critical enough to stop an aircraft from flying.

It gets written up and addressed at the next home stop or minor maintenance window..

Stuff like carpets are probably replaced every C8/D check (every 6-8yrs). IFE probably double that.

 

[elanshin]

Im surprised QF isn't considering adding 777X to the fleet as part of the 380 replacement. They missed the 777-300 which i think everyone looking back would believe it would've been the better plane for Qantas than the 380.

But now there's a chance to pick up the 777X and we're finally at a point where it'll likely launch soon so you're not sitting around ripping your fleet planning schedule.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Im surprised QF isn't considering adding 777X to the fleet as part of the 380 replacement. They missed the 777-300 which i think everyone looking back would believe it would've been the better plane for Qantas than the 380.

But now there's a chance to pick up the 777X and we're finally at a point where it'll likely launch soon so you're not sitting around ripping your fleet planning schedule.

If it's Boeing, I'm not going.

 

[jamesatfish]

From an F cabin perspective, as long as the A380 is being replaced by the A350 I think it's a positive.

Qantas cramming 14 pax into F was always in such stark contrast to someone like SQ who only put 6 F seats on their A380s. The QF hard product is dated, and 2 toilets for 14 pax (or more given the J passengers who come down to use the F toilets) isn't a premium experience especially in the hour or so before arrival when everyone wants to get changed back into their street clothes.

I can't wait to try the A350 when it arrives with more space and only 6 F seats, so if it ends up on all the current routes where Qantas fly an F cabin I'll end up on QF more often than I do now.

If on the other hand they replace the A380 with the 787 (or another 3 class aircraft) on the US or SIN/UK routes then I'll be back to another carrier.

First-world-problem perspective of course.

 

[moa999]

Im surprised QF isn't considering adding 777X to the fleet as part of the 380 replacement

Running an airlines isn't Pokemon.

As it is the long term plan is for four different widebodies.

 

[elanshin]

Running an airlines isn't Pokemon.

As it is the long term plan is for four different widebodies.

Long term right now there's only the a350 and b787. Sure there's variants but types they're going down to 2 plus the a350-1000ULR if you count that as a separate special aircraft.

777X also represents the biggest passenger service airline going forward. Its spec and profile would put it as the closest aircraft to replacing the 380.