Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is turning up the heat on Airbus to provide certainty with the delivery
of its multi-billion dollar aircraft deal it placed in May. Joyce, and the airline,
want certainty that delivery dates are met, particularly for the A350,
which is vital to launch Project Sunrise. Lets look at this closer in todays video…
In May, Qantas confirmed its biggest-ever aircraft order, placing its complete faith
in Airbus for widebody, single aisle, and regional aircraft. In doing so, the
airline struck a blow to Boeing's hopes for the purchase of replacement 737s and new 777X jets.
At the time, Joyce said the Airbus A350-1000 would make any city in the
world quote "just one flight away from Australia" from late 2025.
While Qantas has carried the focus for the last few years, things are now quickly
shifting to Airbus, which recently cut its overall 2022 delivery target and lowered its
monthly production rate forecast. Recently, Bloomberg reported that Joyce warned against
lengthy delivery delays ahead of a planned meeting with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury.
The meeting will give Joyce a progress report on each of the key programs,
including the twelve all-important A350-1000s on order. Joyce reassured Bloomberg that he's
"quite happy" with communications from Airbus and so far has seen no signs that deliveries
are falling behind schedule, although he will press Faury for certainty on the bespoke A350s.
"I think every airline would be after certainty on the time-frames, if they come a month later
it doesn't make much difference, if it's six months or a year, that can make a big difference."
Apart from Project Sunrise, Qantas is also trusting Airbus with a major fleet renewal
of its narrowbody and regional fleet, which for years has been comprised of Boeing 737s and 717s.
The May order contained firm orders for 20 Airbus A321XLRs and 20 A220-300s,
plus 94 purchase order rights spread over at least a decade.
The decision also folded in an existing 109 A320-family (plus options) order
from group airline, Jetstar, bringing the total order to 299 narrowbody aircraft,
half of which are firm orders with the remaining as options. Within that number,
the Qantas group can switch between any variant of the A320 and A220 families.
The twelve A350-1000s are due to start arriving in 2025 and be completed by 2028,
while deliveries of the A220s will begin late in 2023 and the A321XLRs a year later.
Joyce said he is keen to monitor the A350-1000 project and ensure the jet
meets weight requirements- a vital element of profitability for Project Sunrise.
On the business side of Project Sunrise, Joyce said nonstop flights from east coast Australia
to New York JFK would be first, followed by London Heathrow. The direct flights will
carry a 30% premium over current one-stop services, but Joyce doesn't believe Project
Sunrise flights will undermine the market for routes via Dubai due to the fare differential.
He also said that demand on the London-Australia route is currently quote "really, really strong."
Do you think Airbus will deliver exactly as planned with the agreed-upon
timeline? Or is there a chance of things slipping? Let us know in the comments.