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Qantas has announced that it is bolstering its fleet of Dreamliners, with plans to add a trio of 787s to its line-up in June.
With the additional three aircraft, Qantas’ fleet of Boeing 787-9s will be strengthened to a total of 14 aircraft.
Like previous Qantas 787-9s, the three new aircraft will feature 42 business class lie-flat bed seats, 28 premium economy seats and 166 economy seats.
CEO Alan Joyce has said that the new aircraft will provide additional travel capacity and allow Qantas to keep its fares lower.
“We’ve actually got three new 787s arriving in June and are two years late because of the supply chain issues,” he said in an interview with 6PR Perth.
Qantas is looking to expand its international services with the 787s and is currently in talks with Air France in developing a direct route from Perth to France, as well as several other additional European locations that would bolster Perth Airport as the country’s western international travel hub.
“We want to do Paris and we’re talking to Air France and other European airlines about how we could do that,” said Joyce.
However, expanding Perth’s international capacity has hit roadblocks in the past with the airport not having the facilities for the customs processes required.
As a result, Qantas services to Jakarta and Johannesburg were grounded, and are likely to remain that way for some time until the airline and Perth Airport are able to reach an agreement.
“Unfortunately, we’re probably paused in terms of the expansion until we can reach agreement with the airport on the development of those terminals,” said Joyce.
The Flying Kangaroo CEO said that the airline would love to bolster the west coasts international capacity with new terminal development but that it would “be years away.”
“We need a long-term deal with Perth airport, [and] in order to get that we’re still in dialogue with Perth airport, we’re hoping that we can reach agreement, because it will unlock a huge amount of growth for Qantas”.
Outside of Perth, overall international capacity is only set to be further increased with the reactivation of the last four Qantas Airbus A380s, which will free up A330s for domestic travel.
Capacity, as Joyce points out, is not the only factor that is driving up airfares. Supply chain issues are still slowing down expansion, with delays in the delivery of aircraft and crucial parts.
The biggest hurdle the airline faces with airfares is “fuel price, which is the largest cause and flying aircraft are up 65% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
“So, unless fuel comes down, and maybe if the Ukraine war ends, we could see a reduction in fuel but at the moment, that’s a big impost on airfares.”
