Qantas Airways and Boeing appear to be on the brink of finalizing an order for additional 787 aircraft, supplementing the existing fleet operated by the Australian airline. According to Reuters, Qantas is poised to acquire an unspecified number of the larger variant of Boeing’s model, the 787-10. If realized, this move will fortify the Dreamliner family’s presence within the company. The contract’s announcement could precede this month’s end.
However, negotiations typically extend until the eleventh hour, and no decision is set in stone until gaining approval from the airline’s board of directors. Should the agreement come to fruition, it would mark Qantas’ inaugural order for the 787-10 model, Boeing’s largest 787 version. This variant boasts a slightly shorter range and was designed to compete with the Airbus A330neo and the smallest A350 model.
Vanessa Hudson, set to assume the role of Qantas’ CEO, declared in June that the company was receptive to proposals for overhauling the A330 fleet. Qantas’ most recent Dreamliner order confirmation dates back to 2018, concluding a deal for six planes designated to replace their Boeing 747s. Currently, the operational fleet consists of 14 aircraft of the 787-9 variant. It’s noteworthy that Qantas still maintains options for 787s that were secured several years ago.
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Behramjee Ghadially, an industry analyst, deems the 787-10 is a good choice for Qantas and its future plans. Firstly, it would streamline the fleet, envisioning a long-range fleet composed solely of the A350 and B787-9/10 families by the 2030-2040 decade. This consolidation could yield cost savings across various facets.
Moreover, even though the 787-10’s range falls short of facilitating non-stop flights from Brisbane to California or Vancouver, it opens up the prospect of direct operations between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and destinations like Honolulu, Bangalore, Seoul, Shanghai, and Beijing, without payload constraints.
Lastly, and notably, while Qantas’ A330 fleet lacks a premium economy class cabin, the same isn’t expected for the 787-10 fleet. The currently operated 787-9s by the airline feature 28 premium economy cabin seats. Drawing reference from KLM’s 787-10 cabin layout, Qantas’ 787-10 could accommodate 36 business class seats, 28 premium economy, and 279 economy class, totaling 343 seats. This configuration would provide an almost 15% capacity boost compared to their A330-300, along with an additional 3-ton cargo capacity.
