Qantas increases A380 order

[aus_flyer]

QANTAS has placed orders for eight more of the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380.

The aircraft would most likely be used on long-haul routes between Australia and the United States, Europe and possibly the Middle East, Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon says.

"Our decision to increase our order has been made after an extensive review of the recent problems at Airbus and the delivery scheduled delays of the A380," Mr Dixon said today.

"The A380 has breakthrough technology and everything we have seen reinforces our view that it is the best available aircraft at Qantas."

Twenty A380 aircraft are now due to be delivered to Australia between August 2008 and 2015.

Qantas increases A380 order | NEWS.com.au Business

 

[Mal]

I think the sweetener of an additional 4 A330-200's from Airbus and an attractive buy in price may have had some effect on this purchase.

 

[oz_mark]

One would guess the package price was right.

I also suspect that they would have made some evaluation against any forthcoming 747 models.

Are the 4 A332's additional to the 2 already announced?

And in the Qantas press release
About Qantas - Newsroom

I assume the 5 738's referred to are those previously announced as well?

 

[Altair]

One would guess the package price was right.

I also suspect that they would have made some evaluation against any forthcoming 747 models.

Are the 4 A332's additional to the 2 already announced?

And in the Qantas press release
About Qantas - Newsroom

I assume the 5 738's referred to are those previously announced as well?

Judging by the delivery dates I believe all but the 8 A380s are previously announced orders. I could not find anything new on the Airbus or Boeing orders pages.
I guess Qantas received a very good deal for these 8 A380s, but they are exercising of options so I do doubt that they were not intending to get them anyway.
Oh I wonder if this means Qantas will not get the 747-8i and instead have the A380 flying their main routes, LAX & LHR, while using the 787, either mainline or Jetstar, to fly the thinner routes. They will keep some 747-400 and A330, until the next generation large widebodies come into being.

 

[NM]

One would guess the package price was right.

Yes, I expect they gave leveraged the current delivery delays to great advantage. There was always an intent to buy more than 12, hence the options announced originally. Now is probably a very good time to convert those options as they can negotiate a good price as well as the inclusion of the A330-200s to cover the capacity shortfall.

I also suspect that they would have made some evaluation against any forthcoming 747 models.

For sure. But I think the negotiating point with Airbus must be very attractive at the moment.

Are the 4 A332's additional to the 2 already announced?

I believe its a total of 4, so two more in addition to the two previously announced.

I assume the 5 738's referred to are those previously announced as well?

I am not sure. Will have to do some digging to confirm.

 

[garyjohn951]

I would put my money on the dates being more like March 2009 to 2018.

 

[NM]

I would put my money on the dates being more like March 2009 to 2018.

I don't think I would be willing to risk my money at all :shock: .

And don't give JohnK any ideas for another guessing competition in the Playground :evil: .

 

[Flying Fox]

The really interesting thing for me in the article from The Australian -

Qantas boosts superjumbo order by eight | Aviation | The Australian

is the line - The airline did not see Boeing's 747-8 stretch jumbo jet as an alternative.

Does that mean they are not ordering the 747-8 ?

And if so, how are they going to replace their 747-300s & 747-400s given that I see the A380 being too big for some of their routes ?

 

[NM]

The really interesting thing for me in the article from The Australian -

Qantas boosts superjumbo order by eight | Aviation | The Australian

is the line - The airline did not see Boeing's 747-8 stretch jumbo jet as an alternative.

This is not attributed as a quote to anyone from Qantas, but is included as a statement of fact from the journalist. Perhaps that is the personal opinion of the journalist as an interpretation of the real facts.

Does that mean they are not ordering the 747-8 ?

That would indeed seem less likely following the additional of 8 more A380s to the QF fleet order. But I would not write off the option in the longer term. However, I would not be expecting to see a 747-8 order from QF in the next few years.

And if so, how are they going to replace their 747-300s & 747-400s given that I see the A380 being too big for some of their routes ?

The 747-300s are now really only used on a few specific routes, being:

• SYD/MEL-PER
• SYD-HNL
• Fill-ins for 747-400 2-class services such as QF25/25
• Fill-ins for some A330-200 services such as QF51/52
• Charters such as the Captain's Choice tour and Garuda

The extra A330-200s coming as part of the A380 delivery delay compensation and this new order announcement will effectively replace the 747-300s. The 20 A380s will allow some of the older 747-400s to be retired in the next 10 years or so. Its way too far out to know what will replace the entire 744 fleet.

 

[JohnK]

And don't give JohnK any ideas for another guessing competition in the Playground :evil: .

That sounds like a great idea! It would have to be a multiple choice guessing competition and one of the options would have to be will the A380 ever be delivered? Anyone going to be around to judge it?

 

[oz_mark]

I believe its a total of 4, so two more in addition to the two previously announced.

I am not sure. Will have to do some digging to confirm.

Hmm, Weren't Jetstar getting a couple as well?

 

[serfty]

Hmm, Weren't Jetstar getting a couple as well?

Information as posted by Wunala Dreaming on FT:

Aircraft	#	Delivery From

A388		20	August 2008
B73H		05	February 2008
A332		02	Mid-2007 (QF)
A332		02	Mid-2007 (JQ)
A332		04	December 2007 (QF)

Possibly additional Q400s too...

 

[NM]

Hmm, Weren't Jetstar getting a couple as well?

As serfty has linked below, it looks like a total of 8 new A330-200s. Now that is some compensation for A380 delays and option conversions. It would be really interesting to know just what deals have been struck, but of course that is privileged information between vendor and customer (commercial in confidence) so we are unlikely to ever know.

 

[Flying Fox]

Yes that is a very interesting deal.

Whilst I understand the 'compensation' for lift ability by supplying QF with additional aircraft, does Airbus also compensate for additional fuel usage associated with the additional aircraft being operated (ie flying a B747 & A330 on the same route where QF would have used the A380)?

Actually now that I think of it, would there also be additional airport handling charges too?

 

[NM]

Yes that is a very interesting deal.

Whilst I understand the 'compensation' for lift ability by supplying QF with additional aircraft, does Airbus also compensate for additional fuel usage associated with the additional aircraft being operated (ie flying a B747 & A330 on the same route where QF would have used the A380)?

Actually now that I think of it, would there also be additional airport handling charges too?

Qantas booked a significant sum of money in last year's financial statement as compensation for the delays. From memory, it was something like $100M, but I am sure someone will remember the actual amount. That was partly to cover the extra costs of operating their existing fleet longer.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Qantas booked a significant sum of money in last year's financial statement as compensation for the delays. From memory, it was something like $100M, but I am sure someone will remember the actual amount. That was partly to cover the extra costs of operating their existing fleet longer.

$104 million in the year ended June 2006.

 

[NM]

$104 million in the year ended June 2006.

well its good to see that my old grey matter was not too far off the mark then. Thanks.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Funnily enough I could have sworn it was $110m. So we nicely split the difference

 

[NM]

Funnily enough I could have sworn it was $110m. So we nicely split the difference

Hmm, I thought the Kiwi exchange rate was worse than that at the moment .

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

It is worse than that