Qantas moves eight 787 deliveries forward

Qantas Group announced yesterday that it brought forward deliveries of eight of its 50 787s on order to mid-2012, a move it said would allow it to speed the retirement of its 767s, give its low-cost carrier Jetstar a competitive edge and bolster its own domestic fleet.

The group ordered the 787s in late 2005 for delivery from August 2008 at the rate of one a month. However, delays in the program, weight issues and the global financial crisis forced a rethink, with QF pushing back deliveries to 2014 and canceling 15 of the 65 it initially had on order (ATW Daily News, June 29, 2009). But recent progress with the 787’s weight and the competitive threat from Virgin Blue changed the dynamics of the order.

The first eight 787-8s will be used by Jetstar for its international operations in a 313-seat, two-class configuration, allowing it to return to QF eight A330-200s for domestic operations. That will enable the retirement of QF’s last 767-300ERs.

CEO Alan Joyce noted in a statement that Qantas Group remains the second-largest airline customer for the Dreamliner. “Today’s announcement confirms that the 787, with its new technologies and improved fuel efficiency, is still very much the right aircraft--for both Qantas and Jetstar,” he said. “It will be ideal for point-to-point flying on medium-density routes, both short- and long-haul, and will allow Jetstar to move into southern Europe as well as build on its Asian network. It will also be suitable for Qantas services into Asia, and even for high-traffic routes on Qantas’s domestic network."

The 787s will allow Jetstar to fly nonstop to southern Europe. Qantas Group will get its first 787-9s in 2014 following Air New Zealand, the launch customer for that variant. The first QF 787-9s will go to Jetstar with that airline transferring back the 787-8s to QF domestic operations. It is understood that Jetstar will operate 25 of the group’s 787s order. Of the 50 orders, 15 are 787-8s and 35 are -9s.