Qantas debuts daily A380 flights from Melbourne to LA, Singapore, London

By David Flynn, January 16 2012
Qantas debuts daily A380 flights from Melbourne to LA, Singapore, London

Qantas continues to ramp up its superjumbo services this week with the introduction of daily Airbus A380 flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles, Singapore and London.

Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday January 17th, the Melbourne-Los Angeles flights QF93/QF94 will feature an A380 every day, up from a previous four days per week (with a Boeing 747-400 on the other days).

Likewise, the Melbourne-Singapore-London QF9/QF10 service goes A380 every day, up from six days per week.

This weekend also saw Qantas debut the Airbus A380 between Sydney and Hong Kong, making it only the fourth city – after Singapore, London and Los Angeles – graced by the flagship of the Red Roo fleet.

However, those superjumbo flights are restricted to four days per week (on the morning QF127 service from Sydney to Hong Kong, and the companion QF128 flight from Hong Kong to Sydney).

The remaining three days of QF127/128 will continue with the Boeing 747-400. A Qantas spokeswoman told Australian Business Traveller "there are no plans for a daily A380 Hong Kong service at this stage."

Qantas took delivery of its twelfth Airbus A380 in December, although the fleet is still one short of full capacity while the A380 severely damaged in the November 2010 mid-air engine explosion of QF32 undergoes repairs in Singapore, ahead of an expected return to service in March.

Two more A380s are believed to be headed for the Red Roo this year, but delivery of the final six superjumbos in Qantas' original order of 20 has been deferred by up to six years as the airline seeks to slash costs.

David

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.


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