© Reuters. Qantas planes are seen at Kingsford Smith International Airport following the outbreak of coronavirus in Sydney, Australia, March 18, 2020. REUTERS / Loren Elliott
(Reuters) – Australian airline Qantas Airways Ltd on Monday announced a reference order for Airbus SE (OTC:) for 12 A350-1000 aircraft capable of the world’s longest commercial flights from Sydney to London, as well as 40 aircraft with narrow body to renew its internal fleet.
The airline also said in a separate file that market conditions are improving, with domestic travel demand returning faster than expected, allowing it to reduce its debt level and estimate a return on profit in the financial year beginning July 1. .
Reuters reported on Sunday, citing sources, that the carrier was to announce the agreement that would bring it closer to the launch of record direct flights of almost 20 hours on the “Kangaroo route” between Sydney and London by the end of 2025.
“The board’s decision to approve the largest order for aircraft in Australian aviation is a clear vote of confidence in the future of the Qantas Group,” said Alan Joyce, CEO, in a statement.
Deliveries of 12 A350-1000 aircraft will begin in 2025 and be completed by 2028. The carrier has also placed orders for 20 A321XLR aircraft and 20 A220 aircraft, which will arrive at the end of next year and also includes , the option to buy another 94 planes that would arrive. until at least 2034, wrote https://investor.qantas.com/DownloadFile.axd?file=/Report/ComNews/20220502/02516701.pdf.
Qantas chose Airbus in December as the preferred supplier for a major order to renew its outdated fleet with a narrow body, in a bid for its current supplier Boeing (NYSE:).
In its trading update, the carrier said that while it expects to report an underlying operating loss for fiscal year 2022, the second half of the year benefited from the return of domestic travel and the recovery in international travel demand.