Qantas to retire Airbus A380 fleet four years earlier than planned

Qantas will retire its Airbus A380 fleet earlier than planned, the airline said. Rather than starting the phase-out around the 2032 financial year, the Australian carrier now intends to begin withdrawing the superjumbos from 2028.

Qantas operates ten A380s, delivered between September 2008 and December 2011. Chief executive Vanessa Hudson cited rising maintenance and operating costs as the aircraft age. She also pointed to higher fuel prices linked to the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran.

Even with the earlier timeline, Hudson said the A380 remains highly valuable to Qantas right now, especially given shifting travel demand tied to tensions in the Middle East. She called the aircraft popular with both the airline and its customers, suggesting the decision comes down to longer-term economics rather than any dissatisfaction with the type.

That puts Qantas at odds with some other operators. Lufthansa has brought A380s back into service and is investing in a new business class cabin for the type. Emirates, the largest A380 operator, plans to keep flying the aircraft into the 2040s.

The A380 saw renewed demand after the pandemic, despite earlier expectations that Covid-19 would hasten its exit from major fleets. Delays to newer widebody types, including the Boeing 777X, left airlines relying on existing large aircraft longer than they had planned. Qantas, with its accelerated retirement schedule, appears to be moving against that trend.