Qantas scraps its first A380. Australian Aviation published an article in June this year, showing a picture taken by a Twitter user, that confirmed that the first Qantas A380 has already been scraped. The photo, apparently taken in the Victorville boneyard, shows the plane without its nose. A sad confirmation that the super jumbo has met its end.
The plane will be scraped for parts
According to the article, the scraped plan was VH-OQF, which was named after Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. It was the 6th A380 to enter the Flying Kangaroo’s fleet and it was delivered on the 8th of January 2010. Its first service from Sydney to LA happened on the 17th of January of the same year. After ten years of service, she was taken to Victorville in July 2020. The plane will be scraped for parts that will be stored both at the Qantas A380 facility at LAX and Sydney Airport. This is the first of 2 A380s to be scraped by the airline.
A new page for the Flying Kangaroo
Although this is a sad event for those who love aviation, this is also a turning page for Qantas. The airline has announced its plans to renew its fleet. The Project Sunrise will see 12 new A350-1000 aircraft, that will be carbon neutral and 25% more fuel efficient. These aircraft also have the capability to fly from Australia to Europe non-stop.
Qantas is also renewing its domestic fleet. Project Winton will see the airline purchasing 20 A321XLR and 20 A2200-300. These are also more fuel efficient and less noisy than the existing Boeing 737 and 717.
The future
Although we all like to remember the great aircraft of the past, the reality is we need to move on from that past. It is a reality that the A380 was a massive improvement in terms of noise, but we need more, we need more fuel efficiency and of course, sustainability, so we can look for a green future in aviation. Unfortunately, that means that some of our favourites may need to retire.