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Australia's Qantas indicates no more A380s

Xinhua, August 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian flag carrier Qantas has indicated it won't take delivery of a further eight Airbus A380 superjumbo's it ordered a decade ago due to its Asian push, a further blow to the aircraft manufacturer suffering dwindling orders for the four-engine aircraft.

Qantas currently operates a fleet of 12 A380 aircraft on routes to the United States and England that were ordered under former chief Geoff Dixon, however the airline's strategy has changed to service the growing Asian consumer.

"We will keep pushing them out," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told an aviation summit in Brisbane on Friday in reference to the eight A380s on the order books, remaining non-committal if the purchase would proceed, Australian agency AAP reported.

The decision would be a further dagger to European aircraft manufacture Airbus as it continues to mull the future of its A380 program. Airbus slashed its production program from 27 jets per year to just 12 A380s per year starting in 2018, though still has 128 orders outstanding, mostly for Dubai-based Emirates Airlines.

The world's airliners have fallen out of favour with four-engine aircraft, instead transitioning to wide-bodied twin-engine variants that offer a similar capacity but larger savings on fuel and maintenance.

Qantas has been talking with Airbus rival Boeing on the "scope and capability" of the company's next generation B-777X jets as its proximity to the Asian region means there is a lack of need for A380s to service the new key routes.

Joyce said he would reveal the company's first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner route towards the end of this year in preparation to begin delivery of its first of eight jets in 2017. It's believed the company is considering possible connections from Brisbane and Melbourne to Dallas, Sydney to Chicago or a potential direct Perth to London link. Endit