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SUPER CANCELLED: Qantas cancels A380 order

The future of Airbus' four-engined A380 is up in the air, again, after Qantas formerly cancelled its remaining order for eight superjumbo jets.

The future of Airbus’ four-engined A380 is up in the air, again, after Qantas formerly cancelled its remaining order for eight superjumbo jets.

Qantas revealed the decision this week, saying that it had formalised the cancellation of the order placed in 2006 after discussions with Airbus.

A Qantas spokesperson is quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald as saying that the A380 had “not been part of the airline’s fleet and network plans for some time”.

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Instead of fulfilling the order for fresh superjumbos, the spokesperson said the airline would move forward with plans to refurbish its existing fleet of 12 A380s, which will include the replacement of 30 Economy sets with six in Business Class and 25 in Premium Economy, as well as the instalment of new Business Suites and wider Premium Economy seats. Click here for more details.

An Airbus spokesperson said the manufacturer had agreed to amend the contract. The change “will be reflected in our end January order and delivery tables,” the Airbus spokesperson explained.

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With Qantas’ adjusted contract, Emirates now remains the biggest buyer for Airbus’ A380s and a large part in its continued production.

The Dubai-based carrier has around 77 A380s on order, 36 of which were placed in January last year.

 

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