Will Qantas send some 747-400s to the Alice Springs boneyard?

Will Qantas send some 747-400s to the Alice Springs boneyard?

Qantas have been retiring their 747s as most of you would know, VH OJI left a few days ago to the Mojave desert in California and so will most of the other 747s due for retirement, but will Qantas send them to Alice Springs instead? It could save more fuel and time rather than send the aircraft to the US and itd be quicker, does anyone know if QF will do it?

I belive there are being stored over there for freight conversion and storage untill a buyer is found.

No.It is much cheaper to rolocate these aircraft to the US.Also much cheaper to lease space,close access to buyers and fuel and crew costs of a one way flight to the US are more than absorbed due to high australian costs and compliance. 

I don't see the QF 747s being converted for freight.  There are so many of them being retired and QF's are amongst the oldest.

When Boeing designed the 747, they did so with the view that once they'd finished their airline life, they'd be converted into a freighter with the big swinging nose door able to be retrofitted due to the cabin being in the upper deck.

Qantas and it's stringent maintenance protocols make their second hand aircraft some of the most sought after in the world, regardless of age. They're also almost exclusively used on long haul and ultra long haul routes, making a 20+ year old plane relatively young in terms pressurisation cycles. So getting it closer to the buyers would be my goal if I were charged with offloading old aircraft.

There seem to be many younger 747-400s in storage, including those from other airlines that run mostly long haul and some that are only 15 years old.  There are also many stored freighters, including an SQ delivered in 2003.  QF have now retired about 18 747-400s with a few scrapped, one in a museum and the rest stored.  I don't know the rational behind the scrap or store choice, but none have gone to freighter conversions since the first withdrawal in 2009.