More Qantas aircraft headed to long-term storage

The Australian flag carrier, Qantas, recently retired all of its 747s and sent all of its A380s into long term storage, and now a majority of the 787 fleet is also going to the desert in California.

With 100 aircraft from its 126 fleet in storage, Qantas’ international flights won’t restart until July 2021.

Qantas’ A380 fleet is expected to be grounded for at least several years, and it’s questionable whether the planes will ever even fly again.

The storage plans are a clear indication of the severity of the travel downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Australia is suffering a second wave, with its second-largest city, Melbourne, back in lockdown.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the airline doesn’t expect more than 50% of pre-coronavirus capacity until a year after that, which would be July 2022.

When Qantas restarts international flights, the focus will be using smaller A330s and 787s, rather than A380s.

Just before the pandemic hit, the airline pioneered some ultra long-haul flights - including Perth to London and Sydney to New York.