Qantas to deploy A380s to Africa for the first time

Qantas will for the first time operate its Airbus A380s to Africa, as part of a capacity up-gauge that also sees the airline enter into a codeshare agreement with South African operator Airlink. Effective immediately, Qantas will deploy the A380 between Sydney and Johannesburg six times a week. The superjumbo replaces Boeing 787-9s on the route, which equates to a near-doubling of capacity. The announcement makes Johannesburg the fourth city in Qantas’ network to see A380 service. The Oneworld carrier flies the double-deck type to London, Singapore and Los Angeles. Qantas operates eight A380s, with two more aircraft in long-term storage set to return to service within the next 18 months. The A380s seat 485 passengers across four classes: first, business, premium economy and economy. Qantas International chief Cam Wallace says: “We are seeing strong demand for our Johannesburg services and, by upgrading to the [A380s], we will nearly double capacity during peak periods, adding over 130,000 seats per year between the continents.” The airline will also resume operations between Perth and Johannesburg from mid-2025 subject to approvals. The route is currently operated by South African Airways. Qantas has also signed Johannesburg-based Airlink as its newest codeshare partner, adding its code to the latter’s domestic network from Johannesburg to nine South African cities, including Durban and Cape Town. It is working to expand the codeshare network to other African countries “over the coming months”.<br/>