Qantas to make a decision on domestic aircraft in 2020
With the ultra long-haul order set to be placed later this year, Qantas is expected to make another decision on future domestic aircraft in 2020.
The information, initially reported by Reuters, outlines the airline is weighing up options offered by Airbus and Boeing, including the ‘New Midsize Airplane’ (NMA) aircraft that Boeing is researching, which some have dubbed the 797.
Qantas has 75 Boeing 737-800s in its fleet, with the oldest at 17.2 years of age according to Planespotters.net. No information has been regarded as to how many new aircraft the airline is targeting and if they’re interested in expanding or reducing their domestic fleet, however this information is to be disclosed when a decision is made in 2020.
In an interview with Reuters, Alan Joyce, the CEO of Qantas, stated Boeing’s research into the NMA concept looked good on paper for domestic operations. Qantas also has the 737 MAX on the table, which is what rival Virgin Australia expects to receive very soon.
On the Airbus side of things, the A320neo Family, as well as the A220 are being investigated, as seen in earlier fleet planning slides presented by the airline. Qantas already has 99 A320neos on order, including A321LRs, for Jetstar to replace their A320ceo (current engine option) aircraft.
Going back to the ultra-long-haul aircraft that Qantas is looking at, it’s been discussed in previous articles that the airline is eyeing the Airbus A350-1000ULR and Boeing 777-8. Whatever aircraft is selected, the airline wants the option to take on other variants designed for routes that don’t need the range as well as to potentially replace the A380 down the line.
You can read about Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” long-haul dream planning here:
No information has been disclosed regarding how big the widebody order would be, however as Reuters and many others have pointed out, its likely the airline will place a small firm order with options to take on more once confirmed the aircraft will work well for the job – similar to what they did with the 787s.
Alan Joyce has confirmed both Airbus and Boeing have the aircraft that can operate the long-haul flights, its now about which one can operate the flight more efficiently, comfortably and has the ability to be shifted around.
qantas will stick with their long held habit of buying ex jetstar aircraft, putting them into service with no refurb with the jetstar sardine pitch, yet charging a qantas premium price. Qantas 717s have wider seats and a larger pitch than qantas’ ex jetstar planes.
they talk about having an up to date fleet however despite much fanfare 7 years ago there is still only a tiny fraction of their 737 fleet have the cabin overhaul that was promised. 330s on ‘price sensitive routes’ internationally are un refurbished without lie flat beds in business class.
With 737s almost 18 years old and the dash 8 and q400 fleet regional fleets even older Qantas seems to only spend money on marketing and certainly not on much else.
Even the recent melbourne qantas lounge refurb promised “10% more seats” yet it halved the floor area, removed tables and chairs and replaced them with crowded bar seating at the expense of anything resembliing space.