Qantas has announced  it will increase A380 services between Australia and both the UK and US from early June 2009.

The increase will follow the delivery of the fourth Qantas A380 in May.

* From 7 June, Qantas will operate five A380 services each week from Sydney to London. Increasing from three per week, the new QF31 Sydney-London services will operate on Thursdays and Sundays.
* From 9 June, A380 flights from Australia to Los Angeles will increase from five to six per week, with the addition of a fourth service from Sydney. The new QF11 Sydney-Los Angeles services will operate on Tuesdays.

Executive General Manager Qantas, Mr John Borghetti, said the Qantas A380 continued to receive exceptional feedback from customers.

“The response from our customers has reaffirmed what we set out to achieve with the aircraft – to create a designer aircraft which exceeded our customers’ expectations when it comes to comfort and functionality,” he said.

Since the launch of A380 services October 2008, Qantas has carried around 50,000 passengers on its three-aircraft A380 fleet.

Following the arrival of aircraft four in May, Qantas expects to take delivery of a further three A380s in 2009.

Having a snooze in a Qantas suite

Qantas have been operating the A380 since October 2008 and are the third airline to operate the super jumbo after Singapore airlines and Emirates airline. Qantas offers the fewest seats of the three A380 operators with 450 total capacity and has a total firm order commitment for 20 Airbus A380.

The first routes that Qantas used the A380 on was flights to Los Angeles from both Melbourne and Sydney but now the Qantas A380 is operating from London Heathrow also.

Virgin Atlantic, jointly owned by Singapore Airlines and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has been quick to attack the proposed merger of British Airways and Qantas.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway said, “One day it’s Iberia, then it’s American, and now Qantas. The only strategy BA seems to have is to lock-up some of the busiest routes in the world, against the consumer interest”.

Virgin Atlantic, 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines (SIA), but controlled by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, competes with British Airways (BA) on the transatlantic route. SIA competes with Qantas from/to Australia.

British Airways (BA) has confirmed that it is exploring the possibility of a merger with Qantas Airways.
The UK’s flag carrier has released a statement that disclosed it is in talks with the Australian airline, which operates services from a variety of UK bases including London Heathrow Airport and Manchester International Airport.

This announcement follows indications from the Australian government that it is prepared to relax its rules on foreign ownership, which would have ensured that Qantas remained at least 51 per cent Australian-owned.

BA said that there is no guarantee that “any transaction will be forthcoming” and revealed that a further announcement “will be made in due course”. These talks join ongoing merger discussions between BA and the Spanish airline Iberia, which would sit alongside a possible deal with the Australian airline.

Qantas, which flies to 81 destinations in five continents, is the world’s second oldest continuously operating passenger carrier.
Qantas, BA and Iberia are all members of the one world alliance

A glimpse of the inside of the Qantas’ A380

Photo and more information : Sleeping in the Qantas A380 suite