Qantas A350s will fly to Singapore, Los Angeles
The advanced A350 will take over Qantas’ premium international routes from the A380 superjumbo.
By David Flynn, August 22 2025
Qantas now expects to launch its new Airbus A350 jets on non-stop flights to London and New York from 2027, but the next-gen aircraft will also be winging their way to Singapore and Los Angeles.
This will see Qantas’ latest first class roomettes and business class suites, along with premium economy and economy recliners, featuring on some of the airline’s most popular routes.
The Qantas A350s will be crowned by six room-like First suites.
Read more: Up close with Qantas’ room-like A350 first class suites
The A350-1000s will be taking over those routes from the red-tailed A380 superjumbo as the double-decker jets are retired, beginning in the early 2030s – at which point the A380s will be more than two decades old.
Qantas has previously said it would “replace its 10 A380s with A350s from around FY32 onwards.”
The A350s will move onto the Sydney-Singapore-London ‘Kangaroo Route’ – which Qantas has long said it would maintain once the non-stop Sydney-London and Melbourne-London flights begin.
These business class suites will be standard across all Qantas A350s.
Read more: Up close with Qantas’ A350 private business class suites
There’ll be an obvious drop in capacity from the 485-seat A380 to the 238-seat A350-1000, however the airline is factoring in the impact of direct flights which skip the Singapore stop-over.
Selected Sydney-Los Angeles and Melbourne-Los Angeles flights will also shift to the A350 as the superjumbos are put out to pasture.
Qantas' A350 premium economy.
Read more: Here is Qantas’ next-gen A350 premium economy seat
The move will cement the advanced A350 as Qantas’ flagship.
In addition to the non-stop Project Sunrise A350 flights, a dozen A350-1000 jets will also “progressively replace” the ageing A330s on international routes, in tandem with a dozen factory-fresh Boeing 787s, beginning in 2028.
The A350s which will replace the A380 superjumbo will be fitted out with the same suites and seats as their ultra-long range Project Sunrise siblings, although the Wellbeing Zone between the premium economy and economy cabins will be dropped in favour of adding back more economy seats.
The Qantas A350 Wellbeing Zone.
Read more: Exploring Qantas’ A350 Wellbeing Zone
Meanwhile, the A350s which replace the A330s will forego first class.
Speaking with Executive Traveller on the sidelines of Qantas’ launch of direct flights to Paris last year, Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson confirmed those jets will be a “higher-density” three-class variant of the Project Sunrise A350s, with only business class, premium economy and economy seating.
“But premium economy is such a popular cabin, and we could look at putting (more seats) in premium economy.”
Also read: Qantas eyes Perth, Bali for A321XLR
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1280
As well as getting more Premium Economy seats, it would be good if Qantas made it more appropriate for the fares it seeks to charge. The current 38" pinch is hopeless when competitors like Emirates and Air New Zealand have 40". In addition, Emirates has dedicated toilets for Premium Economy whilst Qantas forces passengers to share toilets with Economy
01 Dec 2012
Total posts 88
I recall an earlier ET story saying the PER-LHR flights will also switch to A350s to provide more capacity over the current 787-9s. Loadings continue to be very stong in premium classes despite the high fares, which admittedly in part are due to LHR costs and UK taxes.
11 Sep 2015
Total posts 274
Yes, so Qantas is going to need all those A350-1000s and fast!
It's actually going to be very interesting to see A350s on the direct Sunrise routes, the stopover A380 routes and also wherever the A330 replacements end up going. I would think that with 10 x 787s and 10 x A350s, the A350s will be to the most popular destinations like Singapore, Bangkok and Tokyo, with the 787s to Hong Kong, Manila and the rest.
Qantas
22 Oct 2012
Total posts 319
David Flynn said: "There'll be an obvious drop in capacity from the 485-seat A380 to the 238-seat A350-1000".
That's close to half the capacity. How much more fuel-efficient will that be?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 Aug 2017
Total posts 29
Its part of an ongoing strategy (as 747s were phased out) by Qantas to reduce the number of seats and fly fuller planes - there is not a limitless supply of mugs to pay premium pricing for a sub par product given other options available.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Nov 2018
Total posts 144
Will have to double the slots as well… That doesn’t seem me efficient
30 Mar 2016
Total posts 12
Putting more punters through each slot was the whole point about the A380. And it didn't exactly pan out that way...
Long-range aircraft like the 787 are the true hub-busters: last year, to go from Australia to Paris, you'd be adding to the traffic going through SIN, LHR, DXB etc. Today, you go there directly - thus being one of the 250 seats not needed to go through London.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 617
I agree, and like I have commented above, the A380 came onto the scene at a very different time for Qantas and the industry. In those early days it was the only way to fly Qantas from Sydney or Melbourne to London.
Now the SYD-SIN-LHR A380 is up against the Perth-London 'direct' service and as you say, also Perth-Paris which covers the many passengers who used to fly to London on the A380 and then back-track to Paris.
Also there are people from Melbourne who fly QF to Singapore to connect to the SIN-LHR A380, a lot of those will no doubt move to the non-stop MEL-LHR A350.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 617
The A380s are very fuel-efficient on a per-passenger basis if they are carrying an almost full load of passengers, but I'd want to see official numbers or an expert analysis on the A380 and A350 and at the seat breakdown, due to the different cost of say business and economy fares, before making any comparison.
But also you have to bear in mind that the A380s *are* old, and getting older by the time they are retired they will be even older again and that comes with increased cost of maintenance and risk of delays or grounding for tech issues.
Also don't forget that the A380 came onto the scene at a very different time for Qantas and the industry. In those early days it was the only way to fly Qantas from Sydney or Melbourne to London, now it's up against the PER-LHR service and SYD-AKL-NY, and from 2027 it'll also be up against SYD-NY and MEL-NY for those many passengers who fly with QF to LAX and then continue to NY. Plus SYD-DFW didn't exist at all when the A80s came on board.
17 Nov 2023
Total posts 74
I sure am going to miss the A380s!
Jetstar Airways - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Aug 2018
Total posts 123
Nah, the way I feel right now with long distant trips planned for 2026 is to simply continue to code share Qantas with Emirates which gets me where we want to go in comfort, without hassles and enjoy the journey as much as the multiple destinations. Most responders in this forum will have anecdotes why they avoid travelling on a Q operated plane. I simply hate to be taken for granted by management, whilst their staff carry the can to provide bugger all for their J travellers paying ultralight fares for bugger all food, drinks and smiles.
22 Aug 2025
Total posts 4
Not sure how long Qantas can continue charging premium fares over the rest of the market and providing sub standard old product…most of my flying is on the A330 and it’s just tired compared to fresh cabins of JAL, Cathay, Qatar etc
30 May 2018
Total posts 37
Why anyone is still flying QF long haul on their own coin is seriously beyond me (and I'm QF Lifetime Gold).
- Deceptive and anti-customer practices (cancelled / fake flights)
- Price point (up to +50% to +100% vs similar alternatives)
- Product, soft and hard, is second tier in premium cabins
- Limited route network and frequencies
- Over attitude of entitlement
22 Aug 2025
Total posts 4
Three words: frequent flyer points
They have such a stranglehold on the loyalty market there is almost unlimited demand! Getting people from A to B safely is about the only consistent product feature they have left these days 😁
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Nov 2014
Total posts 357
I think pigs will fly first before we see any of these A350s coming to BNE. The A330 probably will keep going for a while, if they want to serve EX-BNE at all.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Jul 2022
Total posts 4
But frequent flyer points are no longer a reason to stay with Qantas given the recent changes:
- points devalued
- business class seats on long haul flights now non-existent
The problem is Qantas have locked up the points in the Qantas eco-system, and they are useless. My 2 million QFF points are worthless to me. I am going to put all my eggs in another FF program, just havent worked out which is the best to switch to. Have to start again with another program.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Jan 2013
Total posts 67
I hear these comments quite often. As I write this comment I am on my way back to Australia from Europe where I have spent a month, flying all sectors using FF miles in a mix of first and business class. the seats were booked in February, and not hard to come by with many various options available to me.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 617
Gotta love how even a very straightforward post like this brings out the Qantas bashers who can't resist having yet another whinge. Give it a rest.
Etihad - Etihad Guest
28 Feb 2019
Total posts 12
Yet they continue to read all the articles. Most QF passengers I sit with have far different opinions to all the people above who never fly Qantas yet waste their time reading and responding to the articles.
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