Qatar Airways plans to retire its A380 fleet earlier than planned, joining a number of other airlines which do not see a long-term place for the Airbus superjumbo jet.
Never one to beat around the bush, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker made his intentions clear at the recent Paris Air Show to FlightGlobal:
We feel that the aircraft does not have very long future in Qatar Airways‘ fleet.
He added:
We would think about retiring those airplanes on their 10th anniversary, unless something untoward happens and we need them.
Qatar Airways began operating the A380 in 2014 and took delivery of its tenth and final A380 last year. Like Air France, Qatar Airways faces a difficult choice. The A380 is an outlier in the Qatar Airways fleet. Although it has been dubbed Qatar’s “flagship” aircraft, it does not features the carrier’s tremendous QSuite business class. It also is the only aircraft type in the fleet featuring first class.
A retrofit of the four-engine aircraft is extremely pricey and may not make sense as Qatar moves toward a fleet of more fuel-efficient two-engine aircraft.
CONCLUSION
Just as Air France is struggling over its A380 program, so is Qatar Airways. Right now, the carrier is leaning toward retiring its A380s rather than retrofit them and place them under a heavy maintenance visit (the D-check, a process that can take up to 50,000 man-hours and up to two months to complete, must be done every decade).
> Read More: Air France May Retire A380 Even Earlier
Check out my A380 first class reviews:
The Q seat isn’t tremendous and many people don’t like them compared to the old seats. In some respects even QR’s 777 biz is better.
I’m curious, what don’t you like about the QSuite? I think it is easily the best overall business class product on the market.
I still prefer the A380 first class product, but for business QSuites are great:
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2018/03/15/qatar-airways-qsuite-business-class-vs-first-class/
I for one dislike that all good seats face backwards and I also think that the cabin is a bit dark and gloomy with all doors closed.
I think the business class model on Qatar is miles ahead of AF, making this article ridiculous
Don’t attack the messenger!
I really can’t see how QR’s 777 biz could be better than QSuite? IMO 777 has very uncomfortable seats, way too hard for my liking. On the other hand, QR 787 & A380 have very nice and comfy seats.
I do think there’s a distinct group of people that don’t like the enclosed nature of suites , i.e. the openness of a LH F or CX F seat.
And what about Al Safwa lounge access?
I love the Al Safwa lounge. I agree that is important consideration in whether to fly first versus business.
What is so bad about the A380? is it the maintenance cost, fuel consumption, not enough demand on the particular routes and not being able to fill all the seats, or all of the above? Thanks
Personally, I love the QR A380. The on board bar is the best bar on a plane.
I think it is the combo of 10-year D-Check, relative fuel inefficiency, and (slightly) unnecessary capacity.
But I will miss it too. I love it very much. Indeed, the bar is stunning, even compared to Emirates.
Agree 100%
Great article with relevant information. I am curios what happens when these planes retire. Does Qatar lease them out or does Airbus take them back and lease them?
Don’t see a big market for second hand A380!
Too bad, out of all the A380s with bars, theirs was certainly the nicest overall. And yes, I know there are only 4 airlines with bars on their A380s, but still.
Akbar al baker is someone who does not have a lot of common sense. Just look at the kinds of comments that he has made over the past two years.
Not only is he retarded to make this decision; he is very incompetent in general, and focuses too much on making a profit over making a comfortable and good product for his customers. Yes, Qsuite is good, but everything else, not so much. In other areas he actually tries to make money, such as devaluing the award charts, etc. This is despicable behavior.
It’s a very short time since the experts were touting the 380 as the future of aviation: revolutionary, here to stay, likely to squeeze out the competition; all couched in language very similar to that used in respect of the Concorde a few decades earlier.