Still the one? The 10 years of the A380 at Qantas

Comments (7)

• 

  Phil Derksen

  says:

  December 10, 2018 at 9:23 am

  It seems one considerable advantage servicing a route with a single A380 vs. 2 787s would be that only a single cockpit crew is required.

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  OV flyer

  says:

  December 10, 2018 at 1:41 pm

  Notwithstanding the economics associated with the B787, my continued preference as a paying passenger and an occasional award flyer, would be the A380 . Nothing compares with its quiet ambiance, the space available and grandeur of the plane’s dimensions. Qantas May also have to factor in, FFs dissatisfaction with continual unavailability of J seats on the busy Melb. to the west coast of the US on the B787

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  Bill

  says:

  December 10, 2018 at 5:26 pm

  The A380 was designed in an era of relatively low fuel prices. When it finally took the skies, and even to today, no one could have envisioned the oil price rise to the what it is today. The economics promised simply have shown true and now airlines are stuck with a fuel guzzling white elephant. While Emirates placed an order for more of the planes recently, I can’t see them taking on more 380s even though they are currently the largest operator of the type. Even with a full economy layout operating to slot limited airports, the aircraft would struggle to turn a profit simply because it has two extra engines. When the A380F was cancelled, Airbus must’ve known that the cost/mile vs. the 777F made the 380F unviable and most importantly unattractive to cargo airlines. Air France’s disposal of their first two A380s will be the first of many if the oil price climbs much higher.

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  John Reid

  says:

  December 13, 2018 at 3:51 am

  I have just flown QF Y-class CBR/SYD/SIN/LHR on Q400/A380, returning LHR/PER/SYD/CBR on 787/A330/Q400 10 days later.

  For me, A380 was the stand-out cabin experience, runner-up A330 – Dreamliner OK but in my view not an improvement for really long hauls, despite the much-touted Boeing-speak.

  I am sad to hear about the removal of the few Y-class seats from A380 upper deck though, because they offered the only Y-cl pairs with window-aisle combo which suit my wife and self perfectly. As for the “increasing focus on premium travel”, fine, but I either travel more often or more luxuriously but not both, so for me Qantas need to frame the question not about profit per seat km but per $k spent by the customer – maybe more profit from me to use a Y seat twice yearly than a premium seat once (or a J once per decade).

  • 

    Josh

    says:

    June 28, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    Regarding the Dreamliner tag from Boeing and “despite the much-touted Boeing-speak” remember that Boeing envisaged the aircraft as 2-4-2 in Y so the tag was appropriate. Qantas screwed it up by going 3-3-3, so they blame them not Boeing. Fair enough if economics dictated this but the tag should have been dropped and the aircraft referred to as a B787.

• 

  OV flyer

  says:

  December 13, 2018 at 10:09 am

  I agree with John having recently returned from the US – San Francisco to Melb on the B 787 in PE. class. We were lucky to be allocated a bulkhead seats, thanks Nicholas and Kirsty, wonderful FAs, where an ottoman was provided as footrest. Far superior than the footwebbing! Still, the experience did not match up with previous PE seating in the A380. Further , oft repeated complaint, with far fewer Y seating on the 787, the chances of scoring an award seat upgrade to Y with the squillion of points available to me are NIL, so please re introduce the A380 on the across the Pacifc route!

• 

  Ken Hayes

  says:

  December 17, 2018 at 2:26 pm

  Unbelievably, Qantas, which owes its first letter, and its very existence to Queensland, a state with a population (5 million) not a great deal less than that of Victoria’s 6.4 million against 8 million in NSW, has NEVER during those ten years, provided its original home state with an A380 service, not even once a week.

  It has not even bothered to provide its home state with first-class seats or a first-class lounge.

  Has Mr Joyce, who seems to know nothing of his airline’s history, ever been sighted north of the Hawkesbury?

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