Qantas orders Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft to replace the A330 and A380

Today Australian airline Qantas announced underlying profit of A$2.47 billion (US$1.63 billion) and immediately began spending it on new aircraft. After much speculation, Qantas confirmed that it has placed firm orders for the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft to eventually replace its A330 and A380 fleet.

Qantas says goodbye to the A330 and A380

This announcement concludes Qantas Group’s fleet renewal program and complements previously placed orders for the narrow-body Airbus A220 and A320neo aircraft. With almost its entire fleet revamped, Qantas has already launched Project Sunrise and Project Winton, the latter of which will be known as Project Fysh in honor of the airline’s co-founder Sir Hudson Fish.

Photo: J.Teppen | Clash

In what he described as a “generational decision for the company,” Qantas Group Chief Executive Alan Joyce said the group has placed firm orders for 12 Airbus A350s and 12 Boeing 787s, which will arrive from fiscal year 27 (July 2026-June 2027) and into next year. a contract. This tranche of firm orders marks the beginning of a phased replacement of the existing 28 Airbus A330s, and also includes additional purchase rights options split equally between both manufacturers.

Speaking to the media today, Joyce said this is another multi-billion dollar investment in the national carrier, which is great news for our customers and employees. Joyce continued:

“This is in addition to the 149 fixed aircraft we still have in order to continue replenishing the domestic fleet of Qantas, Jetstar and Project Sunrise nonstop flights to London and New York.

“The planes will arrive for a decade or more and will be part of the fleet for 20 years. They will open up new routes, better travel experiences for customers, and new jobs and upgrades for our people.”

The purchase rights option will give Qantas flexibility for future growth and it will eventually replace its fleet of ten Airbus A380s with A350s from approximately fiscal year 2032 onwards. Qantas operates the A330 aircraft on a mix of international and domestic routes, with the majority flying to Asia and the United States. The long-range capabilities of the A350 and 787 mean that they can operate across the existing international network as well as open new routes in the future.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | stock struggle.

With A330 replacements not starting until 2026/27, the average age of that fleet will be 21 years, and Qantas said this was in line with its typical replacement profile. In a sign of passenger comfort, the A330s, which are planned to continue flying longer distances, will undergo a cabin makeover from FY25, including next-generation seats in economy cabins.

There’s a lot to look forward to as new aircraft take over

Qantas, and Joyce in particular, have managed to overcome a lot of bad press reports about the age of the Qantas fleet, and now almost every type of aircraft in the fleet is due for renewal. To illustrate the depth of what Qantas does, the airline identified various requests and arrivals which led to the change to an ultra-modern and fuel-efficient fleet.

Photo: Qantas

• The first two QantasLink A220s are expected to arrive by the end of this year to begin replacing aging Boeing 717s.
• The first of seven mid-life A320s for resource and recovery business operations of Jetstar Asia are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023.
• Twenty-two Embraer E190s leased from Alliance Airlines will join the Qantas fleet by the end of this year.
• Two more A321P2F freighters will arrive by the end of 2023.
• All 18 of Jetstar’s A321LRs will be operational by June 2024, with a further 20 A321LR and A321XLR aircraft to be delivered by 2029.
• The first of 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft for Project Sunrise are scheduled to arrive in fiscal year 2025/2026.

Photo: Airbus

Qantas also announced that it will secure access to up to 500 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year from 2028. This amount of sustainable aviation fuel has the potential to meet up to 90% of the group’s interim SAF target for 2030. It comes The arrival from partnering with Airbus and Boeing on SAF projects in the US comes on top of the A$400m Climate Fund aimed at developing SAF industry in Australia.

What do you think of today’s fleet renewal announcement? Let us know in the comments.