Qantas Airways said Thursday it will begin retiring its ten Airbus A380 superjumbos from mid-2028, four years earlier than previously planned, as maintenance costs rise and newer, more efficient aircraft join its fleet.

Qantas International and Freight CEO Cam Wallace told analysts that keeping the aircraft flying was becoming increasingly costly and complex, since the A380 has been out of production since 2021 and faces growing supply-chain constraints.

The early phase-out is expected to unlock about 300 million Australian dollars (215.34 million US dollars) in net cash flow benefit from fiscal 2028 to fiscal 2031, primarily through avoiding maintenance costs, according to the company.

During the pandemic, Qantas grounded its A380 fleet for more than 500 days as international travel collapsed, with aircraft placed in long-term storage in California and Abu Dhabi.

THE SUPERJUMBO

Airbus developed the four-engine A380 to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long-haul market. The full-length, double-deck aircraft can carry up to 853 passengers across two decks.

It entered commercial service with Singapore Airlines in 2007. Airbus delivered a total of 251 A380s before ending production in 2021, after main customer Emirates dropped a large order.

The aircraft's high fuel and maintenance costs, along with the difficulty of consistently filling more than 500 seats, limited its appeal to most airlines outside the Gulf. More efficient twin-engine widebodies such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 further weakened its economics, while the Covid-19 pandemic, which grounded almost the entire global A380 fleet, accelerated its decline.

Of the 251 aircraft delivered, 196 remain in service, according to Airbus data from July.

AIRLINES THAT HAVE RETIRED OR PLAN TO RETIRE A380s

Air France retired its A380 fleet of ten aircraft in 2020, bringing forward a phase-out originally planned for 2022 as the pandemic halted international travel.

China Southern Airlines retired its five A380s in late 2022, after maintaining A380 service through most of the pandemic.

Malaysia Airlines retired its six A380s in 2023.

Qantas will begin retiring its ten A380s from mid-2028.

Other airlines that have downsized their A380 fleets in recent years include Thai Airways, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, and Qatar Airways, according to Airbus data.

CURRENT OPERATORS

Emirates is the largest A380 operator, with a current fleet of 116 aircraft, representing nearly half of all A380s ever delivered.

Singapore Airlines and British Airways each operate 12 A380s, making them the largest non-Emirates operators.

Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways each operate eight A380s. Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Japan's All Nippon Airways also operate the model.

Emirates plans to keep flying the A380 into the 2040s, while other operators expect to phase out the aircraft from the early 2030s.

Source: Reuters