Issue 350: Boeing’s third-gen twin ready to fly

Qantas looks to Asia for its A380

Qantas’s fleet of 12 Airbus A380s are expected to have a bigger focus on Asia in the years ahead as Boeing 787-9s take over some ultra long haul routes and slot-constrained airports put a premium on upgauging existing services to cater for the expected growth in passenger numbers.

The airline has already committed two of its A380s being taken off the Melbourne-Dubai-London Heathrow route for services to Asia in peak periods and Qantas international chief executive Gareth Evans says there may be further aircraft deployed to the region because of the difficulties in adding extra frequencies at busy airports.