Australian flag carrier Qantas is facing some setbacks with the return of its Airbus A380s.
In a statement seen by Aerotime, the airline confirmed that slot constraints with its
Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services are slowing the reactivation of the super jumbos,
and a complete return of its entire A380 fleet may not happen until quote "early 2025."
With Australia's aviation recovery in full swing,
Qantas is already scrambling to expand its fleet to meet capacity demands. As of February 2023,
the airline moved nine A380s from storage, though only six are currently in active service.
While A380 MRO facilities were already running slim before the pandemic,
the sudden swarm of airlines reactivating the superjumbos has limited the carrier's plans.
Qantas focuses its A380 MRO out of two facilities; one is its personal $30 million maintenance space
at LAX, which doubles as a center for its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. The other is
found at Emirati state-owned Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies for heavier repairs and overhauls.
Abu Dhabi's MRO facility similarly serves flag carrier Etihad, which recently unveiled plans to
reactivate its 10-strong A380 fleet through 2023, putting strain on Qantas' efforts.
While the carrier initially projected a full return of its A380 fleet by the end of the year,
the limited MRO slots have led Qantas to reevaluate the timeline by two years.
"Every maintenance facility around the world is
very full because every airline is trying to get their aircraft back
up and running," Chief Executive Alan Joyce told Aviation International News.
Along with its new A380 setbacks, Qantas is facing some fleet delays
due to supply chain issues with Airbus and Boeing pushing back delivery dates.
Earlier this month, the airline announced it would move to alleviate potential capacity problems
through the acquisition of five quote-unquote "mid-life" A319s and A320s to serve its Western
Australian routes. Qantas also confirmed it would exercise options for nine new A220-300s
for its domestic network, expanding its order to 29 of the ultra-efficient narrowbody aircraft.
Joyce added,
“Aircraft manufacturers are seeing the same supply chain delays as a lot of other industries
and we’ve been told that some of our deliveries will be pushed back by up to six months. When
you combine the delays with the sustained growth in travel demand that we’re seeing,
we need to find other ways to lift capacity in the short and medium term.”
In January 2022, Qantas brought VH-OQB back into passenger service,
closely followed by five more A380s through the year.
The most recently reactivated A380, OQI, left Victorville in January before dotting between
Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi with a brief stopover at London Heathrow to undergo
final maintenance checks. OQA has sat in Abu Dhabi since November despite initial plans to
return the jet to the fleet in mid-December 2022 while OQC is also still in storage in Abu Dhabi.
OQL returned to Sydney earlier this month after spending two months at
the Emirati airport for cabin refresh. While the aircraft has operated several
test flights out of Sydney, it has yet to resume customer operations.
Two of Qantas’ A380s have been fully retired:
12-year-old OQF was scrapped in Victorville back in July 2022,
while OQE is likely next on the chopping block- even though it is currently listed as stored.
What do you think of this situation at Qantas? Let us know in the comments.