Is This The End of Qantas First Class?
With international travel way down, Qantas Airlines, Australia’s largest carrier, has a tough road ahead. The airline has released a recovery plan that spans multiple years, a long timeframe that will not be without a ton of pain for the airline. One of the main things that stood out to me is the plan for their A380 aircraft with the renowned Qantas First Class product. This is one of the crème de la crème products for points and miles enthusiasts, and one that I’ve long wanted to fly.
However, the question is no longer when. It could be an if.
Qantas’ Three-Year Recovery Plan
The main goals of the plan include:
- Rightsize the Group’s workforce, fleet and other costs according to demand projections, with the ability to scale up as flying returns.
- Restructure to deliver ongoing cost savings and efficiencies across the Group’s operations in a changed market.
- Recapitalise through an equity raising to strengthen the Group’s financial resilience for recovery and the opportunities it presents.
This might sound nice, but the details are pretty ugly. Qantas will be undertaking the following measures:
- Reducing the Group’s pre-crisis workforce by at least 6,000 roles across all parts of the business.
- Continuing the stand down for 15,000 employees, particularly those associated with international operations, until flying returns.
- Retiring Qantas’ six remaining 747s immediately, six months ahead of schedule.
- Grounding up to 100 aircraft for up to 12 months (some for longer), including most of the international fleet. The majority are expected to ultimately go back in to service but some leased aircraft may be returned as they fall due.
- A321neo and 787-9 fleet deliveries have been deferred to meet the Group’s requirements.
They’ll likely pull off recovery, but it will be at significant cost to their workforce. It’s also sad to see the remaining 747s go without any fanfare.
Potential Retirement of the Airbus A380s?
The news release didn’t beat around the bush when it comes to describing their approach to their A380 aircraft:
“While most of the Group’s long-haul aircraft are expected to steadily return to service over time, there is significant uncertainty as to when flying levels will support its 12 Airbus A380s. These assets will be idle for the foreseeable future, which represents a significant percentage of their remaining useful life. As a result, the carrying value of the A380 fleet, spare engines and spare parts will be written down to their fair value…”
Emphasis mine. All they are certain of is that there is massive uncertainty. I don’t understand the financial implications of the asset impairment and if that has an impact of how Qantas can use the aircraft in the future.
Significant uncertainty definitely means there is a potential the aircraft are used again. But it also means they may not be. It’s gonna be a game of wait-and-see whether demand returns.
Is This The End of Qantas First Class??
The uncertainty returning their A380 aircraft to service means that there is also uncertainty surrounding Qantas first class seats ever flying again. As someone who enjoys trying out different airline products, this saddens me.
Qantas opted to only install business class on their more fuel efficient Boeing 787 aircraft. while the product is nice, it isn’t anything like their first class. There truly isn’t a better way to fly to the land down under than Qantas F.
I’ve only had the opportunity to fly Qantas long-haul on one occasion. It was aboard one of their 747-400s, but (sadly) only in economy. I’ve long hoped to book a trip in F. Last year I almost pulled the trigger on a trip for early this year. Glad I didn’t, as it would have been canceled.
Now I get to hope that at least one A380 will return to service and that Qantas first class award space will be released. My plan was to use Alaska miles to book an award, one of the best miles for getting to Australia.
Final Thoughts
How I hope Qantas returns at least a few of their Airbus A380 aircraft to service over the next couple years. Recovery could always be better than anticipated, and passenger demand could be higher than Qantas forecasts. Initial forecasts pegged travel rebounding by 2021, but these have been revised to 2023 by many industry analysts.
It does take a lot of passengers to fill the massive superjumbo. I’d hope we’d at least see a couple A380 aircraft making the trek from Sydney to Los Angeles within a couple years. But I doubt all 12 ever fly again. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Qantas’ plans, as I don’t want to miss any potential opportunity to fly Qantas first class!
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While I hope they keep it, I’d call Qantas’ first class legendary rather than famed since finding award space is more akin to a legend (“I once met a person who shook hands with the roommate of someone who booked a Qantas first class award for two” type of thing) than something many of us have experienced.
True. Our own PDX Deals Guy managed to pull it off. I found a seat several months back and almost pulled the trigger. But it would’ve been mid-March this year. Would’ve been a major bummer to cancel.