Qantas is in talks with Airbus and Boeing about a possible order for around 20 widebody twinjets to replace its ageing Airbus A380 fleet, according to industry sources. The airline has not announced a deal, but the discussions show that one of the biggest fleet decisions in its long-haul network is already under way.
The A350 and the Boeing 787 have emerged as the frontrunners for the job as Qantas prepares to start phasing out its remaining 10 A380s in the early 2030s. The superjumbos, which once numbered 12 in the fleet, are now down to 10 after two retirements and are 16.7 years old on average, making their replacement one of the airline’s most pressing planning issues.
The timing matters because Qantas is looking ahead to the 2032 financial year, when retirement of the A380s is expected to begin. A fleet shift of that size would shape the airline’s long-haul capacity for years, especially on premium-heavy routes where the A380 still does the heaviest work.
Qantas already has 24 Airbus A350-1000s on order, including 12 ultra-long-range aircraft for Project Sunrise flights from Europe and the US East Coast to Sydney and Melbourne. The other 12 are standard A350-1000s, and they are not expected to replace the A380 fleet; instead, they are slated to work alongside the Boeing 787 in replacing Qantas’ existing Airbus A330-family widebody twinjets.
That leaves the central question unresolved. The airline is discussing a possible replacement order even as a spokesperson said it currently has no updates or orders to announce, adding that Qantas remains in regular contact with aircraft manufacturers as part of ongoing fleet planning and will update the market when it has something to announce. For now, the market knows the size of the need and the likely contenders — but not yet which aircraft will win the order.
