The Qantas Group has confirmed they will be halting deliveries of new aircraft indefinitely, citing the financial uncertainty of coronavirus-related travel impacts.
Qantas Airways
Qantas confirmed plans to defer delivery of their final 3 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft for an indefinite period, following earlier reports from Executive Traveller.
For all the remaining B787-9s that were due to arrive by year’s end, a Qantas spokesperson said that no time frame for delivery will be provided and the market was too uncertain to speculate.
Once all 14 Dreamliner aircraft are delivered, Qantas will be able to complete the full retirement of the remaining B747-400 aircraft in the fleet.
Jetstar
Executive Traveller also reported that Qantas’ low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar, will defer delivery of their Airbus A321neo LR aircraft. All were expected to arrive by 2022.
Jetstar will use the more fuel-efficient A321neo aircraft to fly from Melbourne and Sydney to Bali and other Asian destinations.
These routes are currently only operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, and Jetstar hopes to decrease airfares with a more fuel-efficient aircraft.
Project Sunrise
Qantas earlier suspended any orders for Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, which will be used Project Sunrise flights to New York and London.
In a statement released last week, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said:
“We certainly won’t be ordering aircraft for that this year and we will keep a review on when is the appropriate time, when is the market recovered, when is Qantas in a position to commit to more aircraft and more capital.”
Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas
Over 25,000 Qantas staff have been stood down until at least the end of June. Australia’s largest airline is flying only 5% of their pre-crisis domestic passenger network and 1% of its pre-crisis international network.
Article Sources: Executive Traveller and Reuters. Feature Image: Qantas