Qantas Pulls A380 Melbourne-Los Angeles First Class

Originally published on Airways

According to the latest round of schedule updates surging through Qantas’ (QF) schedule, the airline will remove the first-class cabin on the Melbourne-Los Angeles route. 

This indicated that the Sydney-based airline had abandoned its planned rollout of its Airbus A380s on the route from March 2023. Instead, Qantas will use one of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to operate the daily QF93/QF94 slot. 

The first-class cabin seats were recently refurbished earlier this year. Located on the lower level of the A380, the first-class cabin features 14 seats with 200 cm of legroom and a width of 56cm and reclines into a lie-flat bed.

Although the A380 and 787 have the same business class and premium economy seats, the 787 does not have the 14 first-class suites that the A380 has. Additionally, the 787 does not have the ‘premium lounges’ upper deck, where passengers flying first or business class can relax with food and beverage options. 

Qantas VH-OQA Airbus A380-800. Photo: Christian Winter/Airways 

A380 Capacity

The Airbus A380 also carries more passengers than the Boeing 787-9. This includes an extra 28 business seats and doubles the seats in the premium economy cabin. Downsizing the aircraft from the A380 to the 787 will add more pressure to the ongoing grasp, which is caused by a mismatch between the number of seats available and the number of travelers. 

Lastly, the departure of QF93 from Melbourne Airport (MEL) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will remain a late-night service. The flight leaves MEL at 8:25 PM and arrives 14 hours and 30 minutes later at 5:45 PM. Making a connecting flight difficult, especially to the United States East Coast. In addition to LAX, Qantas also served Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) from MEL. 

Last week, Qf announced the return of its nonstop flights from Brisbane (BNE) to Japan’s Tokyo Haneda (HND), operating three times per week. 

The route is scheduled to launch on December 1. QF will use its Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which can accommodate up to 297 passengers. Services from BNE to HND will run on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, leaving at 1150 local time and landing at 2000 local time. The return flights will depart from Haneda at 21:30 and land in Brisbane at 07:35, all local times.