Qantas future Boeing 737 fleet replacement

13 replies

Alcoano

Member since 26 Jun 2015

Total posts 4

Qantas will inevitably make a decision on which aircraft to replace its existing 737-800 fleet. The obvious choices are the 737 max and the a320 NEO. 


I personally think they should go with the a320 NEO. The 737 is currently too narrow for my liking compared to the a320. Seat Guru shows that even Jetstar's a320s has 17.9" seat width compared to Qantas's 17.2" seat width on its 737s.

Plus Jetstar already has 99 a320 NEOs on order so it might make running the NEOs cheaper. 

What do you guys think? Is there any pros of the Max compared to the NEO? 

ajstubbs

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 15 Mar 2016

Total posts 117

The need for pilot retraining and certification is a pretty big factor if they switch from the 737 to A320n.

Grannular

Member since 31 Mar 2014

Total posts 272

737 would be the obvious choice. Qantas would make this decision based on economics, not giving passengers an extra 1 or 2cm each in economy. The cost to retrain pilots and crew would be massive.

John Odlum

Member since 13 Sep 2016

Total posts 15

It doesn't matter what somebody 'personally thinks' if that person is just another Qantas passenger and likes Aircraft A compared to Aircraft B. What matters is what the professionals at Qantas think, and commonsense will tell you this is no way they would switch to Airbus. The airline has made a massive investment in the Boeing 737 in training and maintenance. The only way Qantas would even contemplate moving to the A320neo would be if Airbus gave them an amazingly low price to offset all training and threw in a few flight simulators, at which point Boeing would simply drop its pants on 737 pricing because it knows the headache involved for Qantas in the Airbus change, and it knows Qantas knows it'd be a headache. Speculation about Qantas dropping the Boeing 737 for the Airbus A320neo is just a silly 'aviation geek playing airline CEO' exercise.

Lps988

Member since 20 Jan 2017

Total posts 33

Slightly digressing, anythoughts on what would be QantasLink's' future plans for their fleet?

Are they likely to hold onto the 717s and Dash-8s?

Last editedby Lps988 at Jun 21, 2017, 02:05 PM.

Himeno

Member since 12 Dec 2012

Total posts 295

It doesn't matter what somebody 'personally thinks' if that person is just another Qantas passenger and likes Aircraft A compared to Aircraft B. What matters is what the professionals at Qantas think, and commonsense will tell you this is no way they would switch to Airbus. The airline has made a massive investment in the Boeing 737 in training and maintenance. The only way Qantas would even contemplate moving to the A320neo would be if Airbus gave them an amazingly low price to offset all training and threw in a few flight simulators, at which point Boeing would simply drop its pants on 737 pricing because it knows the headache involved for Qantas in the Airbus change, and it knows Qantas knows it'd be a headache. Speculation about Qantas dropping the Boeing 737 for the Airbus A320neo is just a silly 'aviation geek playing airline CEO' exercise.

Which is what Airbus did with the A330s.
Airbus gave QF very cheap 330s and simulators in order to entice them to confirm the 380s.

AmbroseRPM

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

Member since 25 Apr 2017

Total posts 6

It wouldn't shock me if they do a deal based on what they choose to be the eventual A380 replacement, the 777X or the A350-900ULR. 

They could very well package the 737 MAX or A320/1neo with the A380 replacement to save some $$$. 
I would think they would go with Boeing though. The re-training cost would be astronomical to switch to Airbus.

Dredgy

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 02 Apr 2017

Total posts 180

Slightly digressing, anythoughts on what would be QantasLink's' future plans for their fleet?

Are they likely to hold onto the 717s and Dash-8s?

Last edited by Lps988 at Jun 21, 2017, 02.05 PM.


They will have to switch eventually. There are too few routes now that justify turboprops so I'd like to see them fly more regional jets. The Q400s are something I avoid if I have the choice, which usually leaves me flying VA.

The 717 is a great aircraft, and I'm sure Qantas would buy more if Boeing had kept them in production. I'd personally like to see a switch to Bombardier jets - I like the rear-engined planes for noise levels up front. I haven't flown any of their Fokker 100s yet, but I used to HATE the Alliance ones, the interior was so depressing.

I don't think Qantas is too concerned about its regional fleet showing its age, so I'll guess we are stuck with the status quo for a long while.

Last editedby Dredgy at Jun 21, 2017, 04:24 PM.

Packetman21

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 28 Jul 2016

Total posts 68

Well, I guess it is unpredictable. We have seen it happen to the A330 replacing the 767, but then again, the 737 fleet is much larger and the transition would cost way too much. Having the same aircraft type as with Jetstar would be good as well, and they could use those to retrain the pilots. No idea, but I think the 737 MAX is slightly ahead. 


As for the regional replacement, QF are not in a hurry to get rid of those aircraft, they are in good shape. Bombardier CSeries is a potential plane.


We will have to wait and see.

Last editedby Packetman21 at Jun 21, 2017, 06:21 PM.

brinkers

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 16 Jun 2011

Total posts 233

My personal feeling is that the training costs are not insurmountable. Any change to a new type would happen over ten years or so, based on the spread of the arrivals of the current 737s.

Qantas will certainly play the two manfacturers off against each other to get a good deal.

Having said that, I would lean toward the replacements being some model of 737.

moa999

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 02 Jul 2011

Total posts 835

The recent seat refurb and current WiFi installation shows the current 737s will be with us for a while (oldest is 2002 delivery)


Think QF will pickup some 321neos from the Group order for growth. Could possibly get JetConnect to operate returning those 8 737s to mainline.
Alternatively could setup a Perth base, install a better (but not fully flat seat) and use for PER-Asia and East Coast
(Something like Qatar's new regional first for example)

aniljak

Member since 15 Sep 2012

Total posts 98

By the time Qantas makes a decision, orders the aircraft, and get them; years will have passed. They will be the wrong type for their routes and delivered years after other airlines get new aircraft. Need to order now with concrete early delivery!

memelord

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 21 May 2017

Total posts 3

Is it so outrageous that Qantas would look to the A320? Bearing in mind that the 99 A320s that Qantas have on order for Jetstar and it's subsidiaries is greater than the entire QF 737 fleet - I imagine that the cost of retraining pilots/crew would be largely negated by the economies of scale associated with operating such a large fleet of A320s?

johnnypc67

Member since 28 Nov 2012

Total posts 19

What about the hyped boeing MoM, a good replacement for the old and fantastic 767's

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