QANTAS is set to increase its utilisation rate for its Flagship A380 aircraft. Starting from 04 November, the present 4 times weekly A380 service from Sydney to Hong Kong will increase to 5 replacing the 747. The remaining 2 weekly services on Tues/Wed will remain as 747.

It is during the peak holiday season in Janaury-February which will see further use of the A380. From 07 Jan to 26 February the A380 will operate daily Sydney to Hong Kong. Furthermore on the Sydney to Los Angeles services, from 03 Jan to 26 Jan the Fri and Sun  QF107/QF108 flights will change from 747 to A380 (the LAX – New York sector will remain as 747).

QANTAS has a fleet of only 12 A380s. In addition to these seasonal increases, QANTAS uses the A380 on daily services from both Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles and to London via Dubai respectively. Will a fleet of 12 aircraft be sustainable and realistic to operate such an ambitious schedule relative to fleet size? It may well be possible assuming all aircraft are in operation. Should there be even one aircraft out of service, QANTAS seems to have left very little in terms of organisational slack with this level of A380 utilisation.