The Qantas Group is due to add more aircraft to its operational fleet next month as the airline continues to rebuild its international network.
In its latest update, the carrier said an eighth Airbus A380 is due to return to service in early July, following heavy maintenance checks and cabin refurbishment. The carrier recently said that its last two A380s are expected to re-enter the fleet next year, giving it a total of 10.
Qantas expects to receive its 14th Boeing 787-9 in mid-July, following delivery delays. This is the last of three 787s to be delivered from its current tranche of orders. The other two aircraft arrived in recent months.
The group's LCC subsidiary Jetstar is scheduled to take delivery of its ninth A321LR in July. The airline expects to receive another nine of the LRs through the end of 2024.
Excluding these upcoming deliveries, Qantas has received six new aircraft since the start of 2023.
Qantas said its passenger demand is strong heading into the July school holiday peak period. The airline said two international routes added this month, to New York and Rome, are “heavily booked.”
The group has either announced or resumed 11 international routes since mid-May.
According to data from CAPA and OAG, the Qantas Group’s domestic capacity is essentially matching levels from the same point in 2019, as measured in weekly seats.
International capacity is also moving closer to recovery. The group’s international seats were at 93.7% of 2019 levels for the week of June 26.
However, within the group the international recovery is occurring faster for Jetstar than for Qantas Airways. Qantas international weekly seats are at 85.2% of 2019 levels, while Jetstar’s are already ahead of 2019 levels.
Separately, Qantas announced its planned engineering academy will be located at facilities in Brisbane and Melbourne. Across both sites, the academy will train up to 300 engineers a year from 2025 and will be run in partnership with Aviation Australia.
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