Qantas A380 refurbishment news and updates

[elanshin]

Full cabin being minor upgrades to F.. and totally revised upper deck including J suites, larger PE section and blocked doors.

when you say "full cabin" does that include economy?
Last time I flew on a refurbished A380 the economy seats were still the originals, and showing their age.

F refresh, J overhaul and upper deck overhaul.
Y also get a refurbishment and refresh.

The problem is that all the other a380s are now at least 5 years since their update. Many of them were done in 2019.

 

[RSD]

when you say "full cabin" does that include economy?
Last time I flew on a refurbished A380 the economy seats were still the originals, and showing their age.

Still a better economy seat than the much newer B787's

 

[ayebee]

Still a better economy seat than the much newer B787's

Don't disagree

Y also get a refurbishment and refresh.

it was early 2020 last I flew a QF 380 so not long after the supposed refresh & my seat and general surrounding certainly didn't have that "new plane" feel.

No need to visit Nth America any more, and originating MEL there are more convenient options north and west so can't see when I may ever fly QF A380 again.

 

[elanshin]

Just landed into MEL and seeing a QF 380 parked next to EK one. Nice sight to see as its relatively uncommon in MEL as of late.

 

[Berlin]

Just landed into MEL and seeing a QF 380 parked next to EK one. Nice sight to see as its relatively uncommon in MEL as of late.

I remember coming back to Sydney on the very first flight getting us out of New Zealand after the 4th or 5th Covid lockdown. All dead still over in Auckland but over here, there were already 3 A380s at Sydney airport (I believe 2 EKs and one SQ from memory but could have been QF) and we got so excited about life (THE life!) coming back

 

[HockeyMonkey]

When is Melbourne likely to get a 7 day a week A380 service again?

Looks like we have our answer for the return of the 9th A380 with SYD-DFW some days

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-international-network-to-grow-with-220000-more-seats-new-aircraft-and-new-route/

 

[elanshin]

Looks like we have our answer for the return of the 9th A380 with SYD-DFW some days

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-international-network-to-grow-with-220000-more-seats-new-aircraft-and-new-route/

Thats what QF anticipates. Who knows if it will actually pan out that way. We saw JNB get pushed back by 3 months and launched with probably 1 frame less than they wanted.

 

[jrfsp]

The last Qantas A380 will return in 2026

It’s been a slow return to the skies fo the red-tailed superjumbos…

www.executivetraveller.com

Seems like there will be further delays for return of the A380s, not sure what impact will have on the schedule

 

[elanshin]

The last Qantas A380 will return in 2026

It’s been a slow return to the skies fo the red-tailed superjumbos…

www.executivetraveller.com

Seems like there will be further delays for return of the A380s, not sure what impact will have on the schedule

Schedule wise i think they've stopped anticipating the return of the 380s early so i don't think they've got any problems there. The real question is the bird likely last in line is OQL needing a cabin refit. Would they make the call to adapt it to the 350 fleet?

 

[moa999]

Think all those things have pretty long lead times plus a new type in a plane might need additional certification.

I wonder as the Sunrise aircraft get delivered whether we might see the deletion of F on some A380s.

 

[mviy]

Think all those things have pretty long lead times plus a new type in a plane might need additional certification.

I wonder as the Sunrise aircraft get delivered whether we might see the deletion of F on some A380s.

It is possible QF might sell the F cabin as J seats with J service. I think this has already happened at times on seasonal routes.

 

[moa999]

think this has already happened at times on seasonal routes

Used to happen on the summer SYD-HKG services.

But very different on a permanent basis presuming the A380s still have 5+ years to run when the full complement of 350s is introduced. You could fit 80+ Y seats in that space.

 

[elanshin]

Used to happen on the summer SYD-HKG services.

But very different on a permanent basis presuming the A380s still have 5+ years to run when the full complement of 350s is introduced. You could fit 80+ Y seats in that space.

I think it really comes down to what QF wants to do in the next decade with the a380 and how they want to position themselves in the market. You're seeing the likes of SQ and EK refreshing their cabins for their 380s indicating they want to use them for quite a while longer.

LH wont be installing Allegris but will be updating IFE and J to a different product on their a380 citing they don't expect the 380 to be in the fleet too far into 2030s (if at all). BA is also updating their a380 interiors. That's basically every major a380 carrier refitting their a380.

Personally, given all the problems with building new planes right now, I think the 380s going to be around long enough that QF may want to consider updating the cabin of the last 2 in the shop as well. It'll be hilariously bad if OQL gets a cabin "refresh" in 2026 with the 2018 seats and comes back along at the same time as the a350.

 

[moa999]

And QF has already updated J and PE on the A380.
F to/ from Australia is a limited market and mostly the crowd I suspect will be attracted to the direct A350 flights (and the better cabin).

So it becomes a question of whether it's worth refreshing the 380 F cabin, or a better return from adding more Y (or possibly PE) seats, and the estimated remaining flying life of the aircraft, noting that any refurb is expensive and takes time away from earning $s.

 

[jrfsp]

And QF has already updated J and PE on the A380.
F to/ from Australia is a limited market and mostly the crowd I suspect will be attracted to the direct A350 flights (and the better cabin).

So it becomes a question of whether it's worth refreshing the 380 F cabin, or a better return from adding more Y (or possibly PE) seats, and the estimated remaining flying life of the aircraft, noting that any refurb is expensive and takes time away from earning $s.

Problem is then having two sub fleets, probably a nightmare from a scheduling perspective

 

[elanshin]

And QF has already updated J and PE on the A380.
F to/ from Australia is a limited market and mostly the crowd I suspect will be attracted to the direct A350 flights (and the better cabin).

Thats only partly right. They updated J and PE to a 2014 standard while everyone else is doing a mid 2020s standard refresh.

So it becomes a question of whether it's worth refreshing the 380 F cabin, or a better return from adding more Y (or possibly PE) seats, and the estimated remaining flying life of the aircraft, noting that any refurb is expensive and takes time away from earning $s.

Part of it is they have 2 birds that iirc both need a refurb anyway (i think oqc was still old config, but hasn't flown since precovid and oql). If you're already doing maintenance and refurb, perhaps you're looking at this as an opportunity. They could come back to service around similar timing to the a350 with updated products.

I get the logistics challenges of refurbishment but the fact every other major a380 operator is doing a cabin refresh and all have concerns about delivery schedule of new planes should be an indicator to QF. At the bare minimum they imho should be considering an IFE and Y update like the 330 if they don't want to mess with J/F.

 

[kpro]

They updated J and PE to a 2014 standard while everyone else is doing a mid 2020s standard refresh.

Realistically, what is the difference between current J and PE products and a '2014 standard' one. There hasn't been much significant improvement recently, once the standard of Business Class reached direct aisle access.

J has a door, but it's standing neck height only. Bigger, 4K HD screen and a wireless charger. Safran Unity misses out on a swing out leg rest, meaning no calf support - that's a downgrade to me.

PE is even more borderline. Bigger 4K screen and more pitch?

Y is the most in need of an upgrade, with the first generation HD IFE screens.

 

[wenglock.mok]

...
Y is the most in need of an upgrade, with the first generation HD IFE screens.

Indeed, Y still has the original seats from 2008 together with the eX2-era screens, which I believe are 720p ones. If they want to use the A380s into the 2030s, they may start to run into issues with spare parts as these screens are now pushing 20 years old.

 

[elanshin]

Realistically, what is the difference between current J and PE products and a '2014 standard' one. There hasn't been much significant improvement recently, once the standard of Business Class reached direct aisle access.

J has a door, but it's standing neck height only. Bigger, 4K HD screen and a wireless charger. Safran Unity misses out on a swing out leg rest, meaning no calf support - that's a downgrade to me.

PE is even more borderline. Bigger 4K screen and more pitch?

Y is the most in need of an upgrade, with the first generation HD IFE screens.

Mostly technological. But also thr jarring nature of a refurbishment coming out in 2026 alongside their a350 F.

But yes if they intend to fly longer, the least they need to do is the a330 treatment where Y all gets upgrades. But then if you do that PE is going to be in an awkward spot. Arguably worse than the extra leg space Y seats.

 

[Ansett Nostalgic]

Time to start scouting the second hand market for more A380s to expand the fleet.