Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s biggest airline, will take delivery of new Boeing Co. 787 aircraft as much as two years earlier than planned, enabling its discount carrier to widen its network.
The first eight aircraft from its 50-plane order will be delivered from mid-2012 and used by its Jetstar budget carrier, Sydney-based Qantas said in a statement today. The company earlier said the first deliveries would be in 2014.
Qantas, the second-largest customer for the plane, will use the 787 to expand Jetstar’s international services to southern Europe and Asia. The timetable is conditional on Boeing meeting its production forecasts for the plane known as the Dreamliner, a two-engine jet that can travel more than 15,700 kilometers (9,750 miles) burning 20 percent less fuel than competitors.
The 787 “will also be suitable for Qantas services into Asia, and even for high traffic routes on Qantas’ domestic network,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said in the statement.
The arrival of the new planes will enable the company to retire its Boeing 767-300 ERs and transfer Jetstar’s Airbus SAS A330-200s to the Qantas-branded carrier.
Source: Bloomberg