With no international flights since the first half of 2020, Qantas plans to resume its long-range routes starting in November. But the high demand for airline tickets in Australia made the airline anticipate its plans.
In addition to announcing closer dates for several international routes and expanding other frequencies, Qantas has confirmed the return of the Airbus A380 to its network of flights.
The world’s largest passenger plane will take over the Sydney-Los Angeles route as early as April 2022. Until then, the A380 would be reactivated in July to serve not only the US west coast city but also London.
Two of the 12 double-decker jets will be used for this purpose and by the end of this year one of them will leave the Mojave Desert, in the USA, where they are stored, for crew training in Sydney.
Another three A380 will return to service in November next year, while five aircraft are scheduled to resume flights by the beginning of 2024. Two jets, however, will no longer be used by the company.
The return of the A380 to operation by Qantas is another announcement followed by the resumption of flights with the high-capacity aircraft. Not counting Emirates, which already operates several of its nearly 120 planes, British Airways, Qantas and Singapore confirmed the return of the Airbus jet.
Qantas’ optimism isn’t just about the A380, however. The airline also decided to bring forward the delivery of three new Boeing 787-9s that are stored in the US.
