Qantas receives first A380
Qantas is taking delivery of its first Airbus A380 superjumbo today (Friday).
The A380 will be configured with 450 seats in four cabins – 14 in First Class, 72 in Business Class, 32 in Premium Economy and 332 in Economy Class.
The aircraft will depart from the manufacturer in Toulouse this evening and fly via Singapore to Sydney where it will land on Sunday morning.
The A380 will be then be officially welcomed into the airline’s fleet in front of 3,000 airline staff and their families.
The first commercial services will be from Melbourne to Los Angeles on October 20 and from Sydney to Los Angeles on October 24 after a period of staff training.
Qantas plans to introduce A380 services from Sydney to London via Singapore from early 2009.
The introduction of the new aircraft has enabled the Australian airline to revamp its long haul cabins with new fully flat beds in business class, a new premium economy cabin and new economy seats.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Overseas travelers to the United States declined by 2.5% in 2025