Will Qantas stick with Boeing for their domestic fleet renewal?

Australia’s Qantas are in the final stages of a tender for the replacement of their domestic fleet. This is a lucrative contract from one of the world’s most successful airlines, so all the relevant manufacturers will want to win this one.

A decision is expected to be made by the end of the year, with orders placed sometime in the new year. With aircraft being around for a long time, this will provide the winning manufacturer plenty of revenue for years to come.

What Is Being Replaced?

Qantas operates a fleet of 75 Boeing 737-800s, which were ordered in October 2001. Capacity was required as quickly as possible as the main competitor to Qantas, Ansett Australia, had gone bankrupt the previous month.

First delivery took place in January 2002, only three months after the order. The short time between order and delivery is extremely unusual, and only made possible by the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA. American Airlines no longer required some of their order, so they were taken by Qantas instead – complete with AA interiors.

The other aircraft being replaced are the 20 Boeing 717s operated by National Jet Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas. These operate for QantasLink on services around Australia and were built between 1999 and 2006.

All are now approaching the end of their useful lives and it’s time for more modern replacements. The question is, who is in the running and who will win?

Domestic Fleet Renewal Contenders

For the mainline Boeing 737s, the options shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone. Boeing will be offering the Boeing 737 MAX 7, 8, 9 and 10 while Airbus will pitch the Airbus A320neo and A321neo.

Whether Qantas decide to stay with Boeing or switch to Airbus is anyone’s guess. They have experience with both, as their budget subsidiary Jetstar operates the A320, so operationally there will be no surprises.

For the slightly smaller segment replacing the Boeing 717s, it is a choice between the Canadian Airbus A220 (formerly known as the Bombardier C Series) and the Embraer E-Jet E2 series.

The variants in contention are the E190-E2 and E195-E2 from Brazil’s Embraer, and it would likely be the Airbus A220-300 for the other. Which will win is anyone’s guess at this point.

Overall Thoughts

It has been 20 years or so since the last domestic fleet renewal at Qantas. As these events don’t come around very frequently, they are a pretty big deal in the aviation industry.

Personally, I would like to see the Airbus A220 get the nod here. I like it, the airlines that fly it say it’s environmentally friendly, efficient and is cost efficient, and the passengers who fly on it adore its modern styling, comfortable interior and huge windows.

What do you think will happen at Qantas? Will it be Airbus, Boeing, Embraer or a combination of the three? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via Reddit.
Boeing 717 by planegeezer on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.
Embraer E-Jet by Alan Edwards via Wikimedia Commons.
Airbus A220 by Romain Coupy via Wikimedia Commons.