‘Any city just one flight away’: Qantas confirms ultra-long haul flights from 2025

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Qantas selected the A350 for the project in late 2019, and Monday’s announcement marks a firm order for the jets and sets out a timeline for their delivery, with all 12 of the A350s to be operating by 2028.

Monday’s mega order also includes the first 40 of up to 134 Airbus A321XLRs and A220s to start replacing its domestic fleet of ageing Boeing 737s and 717s from late 2023.

Qantas, like almost all airlines around the world, endured a gruelling two years as the COVID-19 pandemic grounded air travel, running up more than $2 billion in combined losses and laying off around 9000 people, or a third of its staff.

But domestic travel demand has roared back quicker than expected and put the group on course to return to profitability in the 2023 financial year, it revealed on Monday. Net debt had dropped from $5.5 billion to $4.5 billion since the end of December.

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“That demand, that recovery of our balance sheet, gave us the confidence to be able to place this order today,” Mr Joyce said at an event at Sydney Airport.

“And this fleet order is unbelievably significant. Qantas for 100 years has changed this business with picking the right aircraft at the right time.”

Analysts at Barrenjoey Markets estimated the whole order with Airbus would cost Qantas $6 billion to $6.5 billion.

High oil prices would be a headwind for travellers in the short term, however, with Joyce flagging it would have to hike ticket prices by around 7 per cent in July and August and trim its domestic capacity – from around 115 per cent of pre-COVID levels to 110 per cent.

Qantas said it was on track to deliver underlying earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation of $450 million to $550 million in the 2022 second half, but a “significant” full-year loss that included the worst of the Delta and Omicron waves.

The A350-1000 is designed to carry about 350 passengers but Qantas’s configuration will seat only 238 across four cabins: six in first class, 52 in business, 40 in premium economy, and 140 in economy. A “wellbeing zone” will be available for passengers to stretch during their marathon flights.

The A321XLRs will not only have more seats than the 737s they replace (200 versus 174) but can fly around 3000 kilometres further, with a range of 8700 kilometres. That means Qantas can also deploy them on shorter international routes to South East Asia and the Pacific as well as domestically.

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