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Australian Aviation’s Andrew Campbell has shot the best images yet of Qantas A380s being stored at the Victorville boneyard in California.
One photo, above, shows up-close VH-OQI, named David Warren, fully sealed up. It’s expected to receive a revamped interior before it returns to service.
It’s parked next to the 11-year-old VH-OQL, Phyllis Arnott, which is thought to have arrived at Victorville in July 2020.
Campbell also shot partially dismantled VH-OQF, currently without engines, below.
Qantas had a fleet of 12 active A380s pre-COVID, with ten being maintained and two being decommissioned from the airline.
VH-OQB, VH-OQD, VH-OQH, VH-OQK are back in operation, while VH-OQJ flew from LAX to Sydney on 29 August.
Australian Aviation reported earlier this year how VH-OQF was being scrapped for spare parts, which themselves will be stored across Qantas’s dedicated A380 facilities at LAX and Sydney Airport.
VH-OQF, named after famous early Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, was delivered to Qantas on 8 January 2010, and became the sixth A380 to enter into the fleet. It performed its first passenger service from Sydney–Los Angeles as QF11 on 17 January 2010.
Notably, in March 2018, VH-OQF became the first Qantas A380 to sport the airline’s new ‘Silver Roo’ livery, after being repainted at the Emirates Aircraft Appearance Centre in Dubai.
In July 2020, Charles Kingsford Smith was ferried directly to Victorville, and has remained there since.
VH-OQE is expected to be the second and final A380 to be retired, suggesting the airline’s oldest and most notorious jet, VH-OQA, could be retained by Qantas.
In a poll collected by Australian Aviation last year, which gave readers the chance to guess which Qantas superjumbos are likely destined to be grounded for life, a vast majority of readers voted that VH-OQA was most likely to be retired early.
In fact, more than half of all votes cast in the poll across all 12 aircraft went to VH-OQA, with readers believing Nancy-Bird Walton could enjoy an early retirement, perhaps at the HARS Aviation Museum, or Qantas Founders Museum.
Qantas said the refurbished A380s, meanwhile, will feature a “reconfigured business class cabin, with 70 updated business suites, and an extended premium economy section with 60 seats, up from 35, as well as refreshed economy and first cabins”.
The iconic upper deck lounge will also now include booth-style seating for 10 people, a self-service bar and the ability to order “signature drinks and snacks”.
The Flying Kangaroo had initially intended to keep its 12 A380s mothballed in the California desert until late 2023. However, in light of Australia’s fast-paced vaccination rollout, the airline later announced it would bring five of the 12 back by mid-2022.
Ross
says:Thanks for the great memories. My last landing on a Qantas A380 was exactly ten years ago today. It was the last possible day I could do it because I turned 65 on the 27th and I would not have been allowed to operate. It was a lot different to my first landing on a Qantas aircraft, a DC3, way back in 1967. As I said, great memories.
Peter Sutton
says:Although it is sad to see such ..young aircraft VH-OQF 10 years old.. being scrapped these A380 planes never lived up to Airbus estimates they were slow used a lot more fuel than the 747s and had many inherent problems..Peter ex Qantas
Random
says:Anyone know what criteria are actually used by the airlines to determine which aircraft are mothballed or scrapped? Sometimes there seems from an outside perspective to be no logic, but surely there must be some criteria being followed?
JF Kaut
says:VH-OQJ was in regular service (mainly on QF1/2 but also QF11/12) from late June until late August, it is now in Hangar 96 at Sydney airport. VH-OQA was ferried from Victorville to LAX on 24/Sep and VH-OQG is currently in Abu Dhabi, presumably for a cabin refit. B/D/H/K are in service.