QF expedited A330-200 replacement rumour - transfer of JQ 788s

Hi all,

Apparently there’s a rumour going around that Qantas is going to transfer all Jetstar 787s to Qantas (and refurbish them with current QF 787-9 seats - including premium economy) so they can retire 10 of their oldest international A330-200s and give customers a far better experience on services to Singapore, LA, Japan and India; essentially expediting the current A330 replacement process before the A350s and more 787s arrive in 2027 due to continued complaints about the sub-par product offering in the A330-200 on those routes, and the fact that some A330-200s are 20 years old already.

Can anyone offer more information on this and comment on the likelihood of this rumour being true? Would love to see this happen

Ah Qantas whipping out the Flex Tape to patch up the holes, no longer using bandaids

This rumor has been going around for years

It's an old rumour. but I guess it's getting another run now there is a new CEO in the chair and there is such focus on Qantas' service issues.

None of the older A332s (Cityflyer) do long haul routes. You may occasionally see them going to Jakarta or Manila but that is about it; other than that they are restricted to domestic and Auckland.

The issue with the Jetstar 787-8s is that they, like the A332s, do not have dedicated crew rest areas installed so, unless Qantas are prepared to spend a lot of money, they are also unsuitable for long-haul services.

While the 787-8 transfer to QF is an old rumour, but it is one possible explanation for the evident lack of A332 replacement in the recent fleet announcements. As far as I know, the A333s are the oldest of the A330s and the 787-10s plus a few more 787-9s plan seems to only replace the A333 fleet, plus some expansion.

If all the Jetstar 788's were to go to Qantas, what does Jetstar do for planes?

A321LRs or A321XLRs. Most destinations except HNL are reachable with the 321s. The HNL flying could be picked up by mainline where needed.

The initial 3 A332s (EBA-EBC) are the oldest having being delivered from late 2002 to early 2003. These were the original Cityflyer A332s largely planned as taking over triangle services from 763s. The first batch of A333s commenced service from the end of 2003 so the age difference is not much but the Cityflyer A332s are older. It is also important to remember that the A333s have done much more international work than the Cityflyer A332s so the cycle count on the A332s will be higher.

If Jetstar is serious about using its new A321neo's for overnight flights, they need to upgrade their seats to at least include a head rest. The seats are the tiniest and hardest in the sky - good luck trying to get any sleep.

That's rarely a concern for Jetstar passengers who book based on price

Flew one of these to BLR last week, my seat had a broken lumbar spot, so , had to fit on the right or the left of the seat, rather than the centre. Entertainment froze like 20 times during the trip. My wife's seat would not recline at all, and it took the cabin manager few go's on resetting it (all in business class). It is high time they let these machines go. Cabin was packed, so, there is no excuse not to change these machines over.

A330s might be a better fit (literally) for Jetstar with comfortable 8-abreast economy seating, whereas the 787 squeezes 9 seats in a body originally designed for 8.

Apart from Japan Airlines, just about every other airline has gone for 9 abreast in Economy.