Qantas ending A380 flights to Melbourne this weekend

By Andrew Curran.

Qantas is ending A380-800 operations at Melbourne this weekend, with all flights to and from Los Angeles switching to B787-9s. The Australian carrier has operated the A380 through Melbourne on a consistent basis since 2008. At present, there is no indication of when, or if, Qantas A380 flights from Melbourne will resume.

Since taking delivery of its first A380-800 eighteen years ago, Qantas has operated scheduled Melbourne (MEL) – Singapore (SIN) and Melbourne – Dubai (DXB) services using A380s at various times. However, A330s currently serve the Singapore route, and Qantas no longer flies to Dubai.

But the airline has consistently used the A380-800 on its Melbourne – Los Angeles (LAX) services. Qantas operates daily flights on the route, with the services currently shared between the A380 and B787. However, from Saturday, October 24, the A380 will no longer be deployed on the route. This marks the end, for the time being at least, of Qantas A380 operations at Melbourne.

Aero South Pacific understands that the capacity will be tasked to the Sydney (SYD) - Singapore route, with the A380 starting to operate 13 round-trips per week on that city-pair from this weekend. 

Better demand and superior yields flying to other parts of the world

The scheduling change was flagged earlier this year and is driven by several factors, including subdued leisure demand between Australia and the United States, a weak Australian dollar and high fuel prices.

All ten Qantas A380s will now be based in Sydney, from where they operate to Los Angeles, Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Johannesburg (JNB), Singapore and London (LHR).

In contrast to its US routes, leisure demand remains robust between Australia and Asia, and Australia and Europe. This makes it easier for Qantas to fill the 341-seat economy cabins on flights to those markets at fares that generate better yields.

From this weekend, Singapore Airlines and Emirates will be the only carriers operating A380s through Melbourne. Both of Emirates’ twice-daily Dubai – Melbourne return services are operated by A380s, while one of Singapore Airlines’ five daily Singapore – Melbourne return services use the A380-800.

Qantas flies non-stop to 12 international destinations from Melbourne, including Auckland (AKL), Wellington (WLG), Christchurch (CHC), Queenstown (ZQN), Los Angeles, Dallas Fort Worth, Tokyo Narita (NRT), Hong Kong (HKG), Singapore, Jakarta (CGK), Denpasar (DPS) and New Delhi (DEL). These services are operated by a mix of A330-200s, A330-300s, B737-800s and B787-9s.

A preference for Sydney

Qantas flies non-stop to twice as many international destinations from its primary hub in Sydney, despite the populations of the two cities being similar. The airline has long favoured Sydney, as reflected in its recent announcement that the first two Project Sunrise routes will operate to and from the city. There has been talk from Qantas HQ about Project Sunrise flights operating from Melbourne, but no firm commitments have been made.

As for Qantas’s longer-term view of its international operations at Melbourne, Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson recently said Perth (PER) would emerge as the airline’s second most important international hub in Australia once a series of infrastructure upgrades are completed there next decade.

The final Qantas A380-800 is expected to land in Melbourne in the mid-morning on October 24, having operated flight QF94 from Los Angeles.

Photo: Qantas
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com