- re-established A380 double daily flights ex SYD to SIN
- have temporarily increased capacity for 1x daily flight to HKG ex SYD
- established 1x daily A380 flight ex MEL to SIN
in addition to keeping their SIN-LHR, SYD-LAX, MEL-LAX and SYD-DFW daily A380 flights, does anyone know how Qantas manages it in terms of number of aircraft required on each route? From a previous discussion, I thought QF didn't have much room to add additional A380 flights to new destinations?
@JA very good question and this is something I keep thinking about both with their 380 and 747 fleet especially in Sydney when I see 4 to 5 A380s at the airport in the morning. With 12 380s in the fleet my summary of flights and routes are:
QF1/2 SYD LHR return- requires 3 aircraft
QF7/8 SYD DFW return - requires 2 aircraft (will be 6 flights a week from next year)
QF11/12 SYD LAX return - requires 2 aircraft (1 day a week which is Tuesday they use a 747 on this route)
QF35/36 MEL SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF81/82 SYD SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF93/94 MEL LAX return - requires 2 aircraft
QF127/128 SYD HKG return - requires 1 aircraft
The above is based on all 12 aircraft being available for use. When they send off 1 for maintenance which can be to Dubai, HKG, Manila or sometimes stationed in Sydney, this puts pressure on the network which means QF81/82 will be become A330s or QF127/128 will most likely be a 747 or a 330.
@JA very good question and this is something I keep thinking about both with their 380 and 747 fleet especially in Sydney when I see 4 to 5 A380s at the airport in the morning. With 12 380s in the fleet my summary of flights and routes are:
QF1/2 SYD LHR return- requires 3 aircraft
QF7/8 SYD DFW return - requires 2 aircraft (will be 6 flights a week from next year)
QF11/12 SYD LAX return - requires 2 aircraft (1 day a week which is Tuesday they use a 747 on this route)
QF35/36 MEL SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF81/82 SYD SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF93/94 MEL LAX return - requires 2 aircraft
QF127/128 SYD HKG return - requires 1 aircraft
The above is based on all 12 aircraft being available for use. When they send off 1 for maintenance which can be to Dubai, HKG, Manila or sometimes stationed in Sydney, this puts pressure on the network which means QF81/82 will be become A330s or QF127/128 will most likely be a 747 or a 330.
Forgot to add that QF81/82 is not all the way through the year with the 380 and likewise QF127/128 is also not a confirmed 380 operation all the way through the year.
QF is planning Project Sunrise for 2022, I think. If that happens the 3xA380 for SYD-SIN-LHR will be able to be used on other routes (well 1xA380 would likely stay on SYD-SIN). One would think at that point year round SYD-HKG would become a strong possibility. Maybe MEL-HKG as well.
Presumably the A380 would still be used to fly to LAX even though QF plans for Project Sunrise to involve direct non-stop flights to JFK
I’ve heard that after the refurb is done over the next 12-30 months, a lot of these A380s will not require deep maintenance checks in the short-medium term - which means much like the Dreamliner we will see some very efficient use of the airframe.
Don’t forget that QF still have commitments for 8 more A380 deliveries (postponed indefinitely). With the Sunrise order heavily favouring the 777-8 (maybe even some bonus -9’s!) it will be very interesting to see what Airbus let Qantas get away with. At this rate I doubt they’d allow those 8 aircraft to continue to be held after 2020... but by then we could have a newer improved A380 ;)
And it should be noted that QF dropped the MEL-LHR A380 route curtailing it at SIN with the new MEL-PER-LHR 787 service,
Which gave it the capacity for the above changes. With repaint and maintenance/refurb scheduled I suspect they will be operating with 11 aircraft for much of the next two years, possibly with a small break over the Xmas period
Don’t forget that QF still have commitments for 8 more A380 deliveries (postponed indefinitely). With the Sunrise order heavily favouring the 777-8 (maybe even some bonus -9’s!) it will be very interesting to see what Airbus let Qantas get away with. At this rate I doubt they’d allow those 8 aircraft to continue to be held after 2020... but by then we could have a newer improved A380 ;)
We're never going to see those final eight A380s in Qantas stripe.
This is why QF 380's always go out tech and ad nauseam delays. Emirates hardly have the A380 delays QF does and I wonder why? MORE time spent on each ac, not sending them out with issues which are still safe for flight to take place but need attending to. Qantas work their A380's to the bone! They are sophisticated aircraft and need a little more TLC than a prehistoric 747 or 767 QF are used to. They need 2 more A380's to be truly comfortable. That will of course never happen the leprechaun is still salivating over the inferior 789's he's getting. This shows its never about the passenger with QF; it's about shareholders and bonuses...just look at the on board F Class they offer as mentioned on numerous occasions already..'passenger?' ..."whats that?" QF says....profits on the other hand is the driver. There surely needs to be a balance.
Last editedby Sr Batrill at Jul 09, 2018, 08:02 PM.
The number of A380s limits their operation and EK having many more is less restricted. QF and BA both have options for 8 more A380s, though QF has stated they dislike them, they are the most effficient aircraft for some routes, supposedly more efficient than B779s - that's yet to be determined?
QF A380 profitability relies on high yield long haul routes. Naturally this means the bulk of our A380 fleet is used for North American routes (where QF has the advantage of being the only operator utilising the aircraft). When Project Sunrise comes to fruition it’s quite likely (pending the price of fuel) that we’ll see the A380s take over routes such as SYD - SFO/ SYD - YVR either seasonally or permanently, freeing up Dreamliners to service cities deep into the United States.
This is why QF 380's always go out tech and ad nauseam delays. Emirates hardly have the A380 delays QF does and I wonder why? MORE time spent on each ac, not sending them out with issues which are still safe for flight to take place but need attending to. Qantas work their A380's to the bone! They are sophisticated aircraft and need a little more TLC than a prehistoric 747 or 767 QF are used to. They need 2 more A380's to be truly comfortable. That will of course never happen the leprechaun is still salivating over the inferior 789's he's getting. This shows its never about the passenger with QF; it's about shareholders and bonuses...just look at the on board F Class they offer as mentioned on numerous occasions already..'passenger?' ..."whats that?" QF says....profits on the other hand is the driver. There surely needs to be a balance.
Last edited
by Sr Batrill at Jul 09, 2018, 08.02 PM.
One analyst recently reviewed QAN as a stock and commented extensively as to how the airline was not renewing its fleet in a timely manner. Asserted that this may in time lead to an Ansett situation.
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Qantas A380 Fleet Utilisation & Routes
JA
JA
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 07 Jul 2013
Total posts 77
sanj747
sanj747
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 01 Nov 2016
Total posts 148
@JA very good question and this is something I keep thinking about both with their 380 and 747 fleet especially in Sydney when I see 4 to 5 A380s at the airport in the morning. With 12 380s in the fleet my summary of flights and routes are:
QF1/2 SYD LHR return- requires 3 aircraft
QF7/8 SYD DFW return - requires 2 aircraft (will be 6 flights a week from next year)
QF11/12 SYD LAX return - requires 2 aircraft (1 day a week which is Tuesday they use a 747 on this route)
QF35/36 MEL SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF81/82 SYD SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF93/94 MEL LAX return - requires 2 aircraft
QF127/128 SYD HKG return - requires 1 aircraft
The above is based on all 12 aircraft being available for use. When they send off 1 for maintenance which can be to Dubai, HKG, Manila or sometimes stationed in Sydney, this puts pressure on the network which means QF81/82 will be become A330s or QF127/128 will most likely be a 747 or a 330.
sanj747
sanj747
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 01 Nov 2016
Total posts 148
@JA very good question and this is something I keep thinking about both with their 380 and 747 fleet especially in Sydney when I see 4 to 5 A380s at the airport in the morning. With 12 380s in the fleet my summary of flights and routes are:
QF1/2 SYD LHR return- requires 3 aircraft
QF7/8 SYD DFW return - requires 2 aircraft (will be 6 flights a week from next year)
QF11/12 SYD LAX return - requires 2 aircraft (1 day a week which is Tuesday they use a 747 on this route)
QF35/36 MEL SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF81/82 SYD SIN return - requires 1 aircraft
QF93/94 MEL LAX return - requires 2 aircraft
QF127/128 SYD HKG return - requires 1 aircraft
The above is based on all 12 aircraft being available for use. When they send off 1 for maintenance which can be to Dubai, HKG, Manila or sometimes stationed in Sydney, this puts pressure on the network which means QF81/82 will be become A330s or QF127/128 will most likely be a 747 or a 330.
Forgot to add that QF81/82 is not all the way through the year with the 380 and likewise QF127/128 is also not a confirmed 380 operation all the way through the year.
mviy
mviy
Member since 05 May 2016
Total posts 322
QF is planning Project Sunrise for 2022, I think. If that happens the 3xA380 for SYD-SIN-LHR will be able to be used on other routes (well 1xA380 would likely stay on SYD-SIN). One would think at that point year round SYD-HKG would become a strong possibility. Maybe MEL-HKG as well.
whoppersandwich
whoppersandwich
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 11 Dec 2017
Total posts 125
I’ve heard that after the refurb is done over the next 12-30 months, a lot of these A380s will not require deep maintenance checks in the short-medium term - which means much like the Dreamliner we will see some very efficient use of the airframe.
moa999
moa999
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 02 Jul 2011
Total posts 834
And it should be noted that QF dropped the MEL-LHR A380 route curtailing it at SIN with the new MEL-PER-LHR 787 service,
David
David
Member since 24 Oct 2010
Total posts 1,021
Sr Batrill
Sr Batrill
Member since 04 Dec 2017
Total posts 26
This is why QF 380's always go out tech and ad nauseam delays. Emirates hardly have the A380 delays QF does and I wonder why? MORE time spent on each ac, not sending them out with issues which are still safe for flight to take place but need attending to. Qantas work their A380's to the bone! They are sophisticated aircraft and need a little more TLC than a prehistoric 747 or 767 QF are used to. They need 2 more A380's to be truly comfortable. That will of course never happen the leprechaun is still salivating over the inferior 789's he's getting. This shows its never about the passenger with QF; it's about shareholders and bonuses...just look at the on board F Class they offer as mentioned on numerous occasions already..'passenger?' ..."whats that?" QF says....profits on the other hand is the driver. There surely needs to be a balance.
Geoffair
Geoffair
Member since 04 May 2018
Total posts 42
The number of A380s limits their operation and EK having many more is less restricted. QF and BA both have options for 8 more A380s, though QF has stated they dislike them, they are the most effficient aircraft for some routes, supposedly more efficient than B779s - that's yet to be determined?
whoppersandwich
whoppersandwich
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 11 Dec 2017
Total posts 125
QF A380 profitability relies on high yield long haul routes. Naturally this means the bulk of our A380 fleet is used for North American routes (where QF has the advantage of being the only operator utilising the aircraft). When Project Sunrise comes to fruition it’s quite likely (pending the price of fuel) that we’ll see the A380s take over routes such as SYD - SFO/ SYD - YVR either seasonally or permanently, freeing up Dreamliners to service cities deep into the United States.
Traveller14
Traveller14
Member since 17 Sep 2015
Total posts 73
One analyst recently reviewed QAN as a stock and commented extensively as to how the airline was not renewing its fleet in a timely manner. Asserted that this may in time lead to an Ansett situation.