Will Qantas retire the A380?

Qantas will phase out the mighty Airbus A380 from 2032, with the Airbus A350 taking its place on key long-range international routes to London and the USA. The airline this morning confirmed the superjumbo sunset, saying it would “ultimately replace its 10 A380s with A350s from around FY32 onwards.”



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Qantas is upgrading its A380s with new business class seats and lounges. “But as part of the pipeline we're building, I can announce they will be replaced by the Airbus A350 from about FY32 onwards.”

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Passengers on the inaugural flight were treated to A380-themed souvenirs, symbolizing just how big of a milestone this was for not just for the airline, but for the entire aviation industry: Airbus had announced in 2019 it would cease production on the model, delivering the last one in 2021.

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The four-engine A380 is only profitable with a high load factor, and only the world's largest airports have facilities to handle the aircraft. Such reasons led Lufthansa CEO to declare the craft “permanently decommissioned.”

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Now that the pandemic seems under control, the great queens of the sky are making a comeback. Etihad, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qantas, British Airways and other airlines, including new start-up Global, are putting the A380 back to work.

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Range and flexibility. Surprisingly, for all its size, the A380 can't go as far as the A350. The A350-1000 can travel more than 1,000 km (540 NM) further than the A380. Singapore Airlines has a special 'ultra-long-range' (ULR) A350-900, which operates on the longest route in the world, from Singapore to New York JFK.

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After being grounded for over three years, Lufthansa brought back some of its Airbus A380s as of the summer of 2023. The airline is planning on progressively bringing back more of these planes, and will eventually have all eight remaining A380s back in service.

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For one, the Airbus A380 has almost double the space onboard compared to the Boeing 777 series, thanks to its second level. This means the airline can afford to be a little more abundant with its first class and business class offerings onboard the A380 compared to the Triple Seven.

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Passenger count In terms of capacity, it is abundantly clear that the A380 can carry significantly more passengers than any 787 variant. With 525 passengers in a standard, three-class configuration, the A380 has a sizeable advantage over the Boeing 787-10, which seats 323 passengers across three classes.

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The future Despite great odds, the A380 is back in operation with many airlines that had previously written off the type from their fleet. This includes Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, and most recently, the Etihad A380 returned to service.

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Since its introduction, the A380 has established a strong safety record and is regarded as one of the safest aircraft in the world. The aircraft has been involved in only two significant incidents since its introduction – a 2011 crash in France and a 2016 tyre burst incident in Australia.

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Currently, the world's biggest international airline has on order 50 A350-900s, 30 787-9s and 115 Boeing 777Xs. The airline operates 119 A380s, 123 Boeing 777-300ERs and 10 Boeing 777-200LRs. The 777X aircraft will replace the A380s, while the A350s and 787s will eventually replace the 777s.

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Qatar Airways is keen to retire its Airbus A380 aircraft as soon as feasible. While the airline cannot ground its fleet due to capacity needs, Group CEO Akbar Al Baker made it clear to Simple Flying that there is no long-term future for the giant of the skies in his fleet.

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