ISTANBUL—Qantas intends to continue operating its Airbus A380 fleet for at least another decade and is working to get more of its parked A380s back into service.
The carrier has been conducting a mid-life reconfiguration and heavy checks on its A380s as they return to service, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said during a briefing at the IATA annual general meeting June 5. The reconfiguration program began before the pandemic but was interrupted and is occurring at about 10 years-plus into the lifespan of the aircraft.
The A380s still have at least “another 10 years of life left, and it was always our intent to keep them until the end of their life,” Joyce said. He noted that they are very popular with customers, and the aircraft are fully written down.
Qantas is operating seven A380s and plans to reactivate an eighth by the end of 2023. Two more will follow in 2024. The carrier operated 12 in 2019, although the airline decided during the pandemic that two would not be returned to service.
Joyce noted that each aircraft requires about 100 days of maintenance for their heavy checks and reconfiguration as they reenter service. Retraining pilots also takes time, he said. While MRO capacity is in short supply around the world, Qantas has the advantage that it booked maintenance slots for its A380s some time ago, Joyce said.
However, Qantas will at some point have to begin considering its options for the eventual replacement of the A380s, Qantas CFO Vanessa Hudson said. In the shorter-term, the airline plans to start a campaign in the second half of 2023 aimed at the replacement of its A330 fleet.
Qantas is due to begin taking delivery of A350-1000s in 2025 to launch ultra-long-haul services under its Project Sunrise initiative. These aircraft will also replace Boeing 787s on some long-haul routes, freeing up 787s in turn to open up additional international markets, such as Paris, Seattle and Chicago, Joyce said.
In addition to its existing orders, Qantas has also recently struck a deal to lease two A330s from Finnair for use on international routes. The carrier is comfortable that its current fleet plans will be adequate to meet its network requirements, Joyce said. Qantas partner airlines will also be bringing more capacity back to the Australian market, he noted.
Joyce is stepping down as CEO in November and will be succeeded by Hudson. Joyce said he has no plans for further positions at the moment. He said he will be taking a six-month break and will make up his mind about his plans after that.
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