Qantas will schedule double-decker Airbus A380s onto eight domestic routes from later this year, including Melbourne-Perth and Sydney-Melbourne.

Following a successful trial during the recent Taylor Swift tour, the A380s will be scheduled onto busy domestic routes. This concept can already be seen in Japan, where Japanese airlines routinely use wide-body jets for domestic flights.

Similar to the current arrangement when Qantas flies A380s between Sydney and Hong Kong, Qantas will sell seats in Economy, Premium Economy and Business on the domestic A380 services. Lucky Chairman’s Lounge, Platinum One and Platinum members booked in Business Class will be able to select a seat in the First cabin as a free upgrade.

With such a high number of premium seats available on the A380, upgrades on domestic flights will also become much easier – and more valuable, as the A380 offers lie-flat beds and an on-board lounge in Business.

Domestic A380 routes

The A380s will appear on the following domestic routes:

• Melbourne-Perth
• Sydney-Perth
• Brisbane-Perth
• Melbourne-Sydney
• Brisbane-Sydney
• Brisbane-Cairns
• Sydney-Darwin (during the dry season)
• Sydney-Canberra (when parliament is sitting)

Why is Qantas doing this?

This move will free up Boeing 737 aircraft for use on other routes, as well as heavy maintenance.

The announcement also coincides with Qantas opening an A380 maintenance facility at Perth Airport. These flights will be used to ferry A380s across the country to and from Perth, as they go in and out of maintenance.

Qantas already has an A380 maintenance facility in Los Angeles, but the A380s no longer sit on the ground in Los Angeles long enough to get sufficient work done there.

Qantas will add five Airbus A380s to its fleet to facilitate this change. With many other airlines around the world retiring their A380s, which consume a lot of fuel, the company expects to secure a good price.

Special sale fares that are too good to be true

Qantas has announced special sale fares to celebrate the launch of domestic A380 flights. Return Business Class fares from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Perth will be available for $1,420.24 when these flights go on sale from midday today, the 1^st of April.

Happy April Fool’s Day! 😉

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.