Qantas: no plans to bring A380s back early as NSW axes quarantine

Given how many airlines around the world are getting rid of their A380s, I doubt there is a second hand market for them at all.

Maybe use the scrapped 2 for spare parts?

Flyboy the will start US travel in December with A330s and 787s; the A380s will happen in July when the home quarantine hopefully may ease.

I've seen reports on another local website that the A380's will be based exclusively in SYD, when they return. Now, whether that is just for the first five .. or whether it is all ten, needs to be clarified.

As for the 'retirement' of the surplus two frames, I would be prepared to wait and see if this actually happens. It makes no sense whatsoever to 'retire' two paid for frames - even in the current timeline. Typically, QF is known to usually get a premium for surplus aircraft when they choose to retire, but the market for A380's won't be so generous. 

There's a bunch of very lightly, newer A380's that Malaysian (MH) are looking to sell (and have been on the 'available' list for quite a while). Not to mention the Thai Airways models which will come up for sale, right along with the Air France models. Let's not forget the Asiana and Korean models, and oh, Qatar might / might not enter the sales ring.

I would presume that if QF were to retire two A380's, "Nancy Walton" would be the first to go. Oldest frame and subject of the engine blowout, it has less miles on the clock than most (if not all) of the other frames. When you consider that QF effectively wrote off / down the entire A380 fleet over 12 months ago, it would make sense to keep these two frames since the investment in them would be costing QF almost nothing. In other words once trip costs are covered, every passenger ticket is producing revenue . Engine stock and spare parts are common with the rest of fleet ~ and QF has owned them long enough to accurately predict inventory levels and costs.

Yes, the market for international travel may not be entirely clear yet ~ but AJ forecast the return of the A380 fleet during the later half of 2023 or 2024. So, with this announcement, the market is proving to be 12-18 months ahead of what was originally predicted. If QF wants to get back to it's full 2019 route map and timetable structure, then it will need these frames.

Think Dallas, USA / South Africa / Santiago, Chile. For the last two, there aren't going to be B747-400ER's anymore, so something has to replace them. JNB would likely move to a daily service, given the mess that SA is in, and who knows what Latam will do with SCL-SYD-SCL. Personally, I think that JNB and SCL would be served with B787-9's, so these two destinations could consume up to 4 frames eventually. That would maintain 2019 seat capacity but would cut the 13 B787-9's down to 9. 

The ex PER (now DRW)-SIN-LHR rotation will require an additional 3 frames, which pulls back to 6 available. Slim picking to serve HKG, HND, NRT, SFO, ORD, YVR, HNL and SIN. Throwing the A330's back on regional SE Asia might work for HNL, SIN, MNL, BKK and HKG but they won't work competitively for India (as a 2stop). Interesting times ?

Kimshep come 2024 there may be a few A350s to pick up the slack.

You are absolutely right the biggest key to International travel getting up and running again is removal of the hotel quarantine requirement on returning to Australia. With new dedicated quarantine facilities being built and heavily promoted in the media it seems unlikely that this is likely anytime soon. Alas. 

Any dedicated quarantine centres built will be bigger white elephants than the de-salination plant in Victoria! They will never be used, in fact they may never get built, it's all political spin.

The time to stop worrying about counting Covid cases is now (in fact it was 12 months ago!)

Get the A380's back in the sky and watch them fill to overflowing. 

To every person who wants to hide away, there will be 100 who will get out there flying again. 99.7% of people who may possibly catch Covid when on an A380 will have practically no symptoms or illness. 

Take responsibility for yourself, overreaching government needs to stop, they do not need to be nurse maids to us.

Catching it on the plane isn't the issue so much as catching it where you are going. Practically no symptoms or illness is the luck of the draw colleagues who caught it say a so-called mild case  isn't much fun. Two months later no taste or smell and lethargy 

Patrickk, you are correct. The 0.3% of people may get some mild symptoms!

However for the people who travel on the Qantas A380's, which is the point of this discussion thread, they are mostly likely to be vaccinated and so reducing their chances even more.

Get the A380's back and open up.

Richard the issue isn't getting sick on the plane it is filling the plane in the first place (and worries of getting sick where you are going) that is why the new timetable is about 1/3rd capacity

Patrickk. I fully understand that but that is a different conversation not suitable to this discussion thread which is all about getting the Qantas A380's back flying.

So my discussion point is that the demand for bringing back the A380's will be enormous. Most people who want to book will be vaccinated and therefore whether it is on the plane at the destination or on return, the risk to bringing them back and starting to fly again is minimal and should be applauded.

Richard I think we are in furious agreement the A380s will come back when they can fill so June 22 seems about right to me, give the issues discussed above..

Patrickk. Fair enough. For myself and thousands of others they can come back tomorrow and they will get filled.

I feel exactly the same way Ian J and could not agree more.

The QF B787-9 fleet currently limited to 11 frames. The other 3 have been built and fitted out ~ and were actually stored alongside the existing Qantas 11 in the desert. Two are fully painted and 1 remains partially painted, suggesting that this frame may be a special livery, when delivered. 

Yes, I would totally agree that the Australian market is the one place in the world where you would NOT hand a competitive advantage to other A380 operators. So, for QF to be 6 months behind the rest of the market would be foolish indeed. Somehow, I suspect that when international opens, it will open with an avalanche of bookings. Those bookings are not happening quite so quickly now, given the prior (and existing) uncertainty about the possibility of state border closures.

Given that there are STILL some 40,000 Australians overseas registered with Australian consulates waiting to return home, there will be a ready-made market .. which is best served by A380's .. to get these poor buggers back to their homeland. And the signs from the industry are already there: the first few November London flights sold out in hours. It is also reported that, due to the number of stranded Aussies overseas, that Australians seeking to leave Australia in Nov / Dec will have no problems getting away, but may well have substantial problems securing return seats, particularly during the December-February period.

I'd be checking those refurbed first 6 frames out and readying them for one a month return right now. The other six should be being prepared for refit of the new interiors - and god forbid, international grade WiFi which if not fitted now, will probably never be fitted. The first 6 could then be retro-fitted with WiFi over a few months towards the end of 2022.