Qantas Group profits are up, attributed to increased demand, its dual brand strategy and the benefits of new aircraft—however the Project Sunrise launch dates has been pushed back again.
The group reported an underlying profit before tax of AUD2.39 billion, up 15% on the previous year. And to maintain this momentum, QF has ordered 20 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, with 16 of these to feature lie-flat business seats to serve longer routes, including transcontinental services to and from Perth, and short and medium haul international routes. QF Group ceo Vanessa Hudson says the aircraft will open up new opportunities for domestic and international travel, allowing QF to reach destinations that aren’t possible with the current narrowbody fleet. “Not only will the A321XLRs help us serve the corporate market travelling between Perth and the east coast of Australia, they will also allow us to expand flying on existing routes into Southeast Asia and open up new possibilities like Perth- India and Adelaide-Singapore.” The aircraft will begin arriving in calendar year 2028, taking the airline’s total order for the next generation A321XLR to 48 aircraft, with the first two arriving in mid-Sep. Jetstar’s two-class A321XLRs will begin to arrive from calendar year 2027. QantasLink, Jetstar Australia and Jetstar New Zealand can also expect more aircraft following the closure of Jetstar Asia last month, with its 13 A320 aircraft to be progressively redeployed, the first entering service next month.
. . . Sunrise?
The QF group announced Project Sunrise in 2017, where it anticipated direct services like Sydney- London by 2022. However, it now believes the first non-stop ultra long-haul commercial flight will take place in the first half of calendar year 2027. The A350-1000ULR will enter the final assembly stage in Oct 2025, with first aircraft delivery now scheduled for Oct 2026.
