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First Qantas Dreamliner to be delivered in 2013

Originally published on www.businesstraveller.asia 17/11/2011 - Filed under: News »

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The first of Qantas’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft is scheduled to be delivered from mid-2013 onwards, announced the carrier after unveiling a test B787 that flew into Sydney to coincide with Qantas’ 91^st birthday.

Qantas has 50 Dreamliners on order, 15 of which will replace some of Jetstar’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft on international operations.

Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas, said: “The B787 is a game changer. It offers greater fuel-efficiency, lower operating costs and a better customer experience than current aircraft of similar size. Its operational and commercial advantages make it the right fit for the Qantas Group’s strategy to serve global gateways, target growth regions and invest capital productively.”

The aircraft would also give Jetstar a competitive edge as it would be the first low-cost carrier to operate the aircraft and will enable the carrier to keep fares low.

Despite the advantages of the Dreamliner, Joyce noted that it is not the whole solution to the carrier’s financial troubles and more structural changes are needed to get back to profitability. “[The Dreamliner] will make a big difference to Qantas' direct international network but it is not the silver bullet,” he said.

Qantas’ growth strategy is significantly focused on the Asian market, with the establishment of Jetstar Japan (see story here) and a new premium carrier based in Asia (see story here).

However, though Qantas is aiming to recover market share, it recently emerged scathed from a dispute with trade unions that obliged the carrier to ground its entire fleet of aircraft (see story here) only to dent its reputation.

The world's first Dreamliner aircraft was delivered to launch carrier All Nippon Airways at the end of September (see story here). Click here for an exclusive review of its first commercial flight and stay tuned for an in-depth analysis of the aircraft in the Business Traveller Asia-Pacific December issue. 

For more information, visit www.qantas.com.au

Alisha Haridasani

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COMMENTS » 

never-again-qantas - 24/11/2011 15:10

"it recently emerged scathed from a dispute with trade unions that obliged the carrier to ground its entire fleet of aircraft (see story here) only to dent its reputation."

Qantas chose to ground its entire fleet. They were not obliged to do so. Alan Joyce took his planes and went home after not getting his own way.

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