Qantas Replaces Melbourne-Los Angeles A380 With Boeing 787-9
Qantas will drop its Airbus A380 service from Melbourne to Los Angeles on October 22, switching to a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Qantas will cease operating its Airbus A380 on the Melbourne to Los Angeles route on October 22. The Australian flag carrier will replace the superjumbo with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
The change leaves the United States with A380 services only from Qantas's Sydney hub. The Melbourne-Los Angeles city pair is currently the fifth-longest A380 route globally and the second-longest in the Qantas network, after Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth.
Fleet Shift and Route Details
From October 25, the Melbourne to Los Angeles flight will operate daily using the 787-9. Qantas is making the switch because lower economy-class demand makes the high-capacity A380 unsuitable for the current market. The airline stated that while Premium and Business demand remains steady, economy demand has softened, making the Dreamliner a more suitable aircraft for the route.
Melbourne is Qantas's second-largest base. The airport handled more than 36 million passengers in 2025. The airline maintains nonstop flights to Los Angeles from all three of its Australian east-coast hubs: Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. It faces direct competition on the Melbourne route from United Airlines.
Historical Passenger Loads
Despite the aircraft change, the route has seen strong passenger numbers in recent years. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation shows Qantas maintained an average load factor of 80% over the last four years.
The carrier transported more than 120,000 passengers in 2022. That figure rose to 138,000 in 2023. In both 2024 and 2025, passenger numbers exceeded 172,000 for the two-way journey.
The Future of the Qantas A380 Fleet
Qantas operates ten Airbus A380s and is the only operator of the type in the Southern Hemisphere. The airline has plans to ultimately retire the superjumbo fleet, with withdrawals starting from 2028.
With the removal from Melbourne, the A380 will be deployed on just four remaining Qantas routes.
| Route | Via | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney to London | Singapore | One of its most high-profile routes |
| Sydney to Los Angeles | Nonstop | |
| Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth | Nonstop | The airline's longest A380 service |
| Sydney to Johannesburg | Nonstop | Only A380 flight remaining within the Southern Hemisphere |
The A380 is currently the only aircraft in the Qantas fleet offering a first-class cabin. This will change with the future delivery of the Airbus A350-1000ULR as part of the Project Sunrise initiative to connect Sydney to London and New York nonstop.
