Qantas set to outline fleet renewal plan at profit update

afr.com:

Qantas is expected to update the market on phase two of its fleet renewal plans when it reports this month, and expectations are mounting that the airline will be compelled to order the same Dreamliners it once held purchase options over and subsequently tore up.

Incoming chief executive Vanessa Hudson said last month that the airline would start a process to replace its 24 ageing A330 aircraft in the second half of this year, acknowledging that slots to receive new planes were filling up quickly in the post-pandemic aviation rebound.

The Boeing Dreamliner is an option for Qantas to replace its A330s. James D. Morgan

Airbus and Boeing have both said new aircraft will not be delivered until the end of the decade, given big delays and manufacturing constraints that started with COVID-19.

Analysts said Qantas could evaluate ordering Boeing Dreamliners or the larger A350 from Airbus, rather than the A330 neo, depending on availability, as part of its flagged plans to streamline maintenance and promote interoperability between its long-haul domestic and international flights.

Ms Hudson will need to negotiate new terms in a white-hot market for new planes, after current chief executive Alan Joyce cancelled orders for 35 Dreamliners, which had a list price at the time of $8.5 billion, in 2012, and later cancelled options to buy 50 more.

Qantas will look to sell its A330s, or convert them to carry cargo, but one analyst said the potential to recoup much was less than it would have been six months ago, given the freight market is tipped to enter oversupply and lengthy conversion queues.

Analysts are divided on whether the upcoming spending will derail capital management plans, after Qantas returned $600 million to shareholders