Qantas puts Project Sunrise on hold
 

Coronavirus has killed Project Sunrise and Qantas' Airbus A350-1000 order!

https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...unrise-on-hold

We will see Project Sunrise sooner than 2023, this much I am 90% certain. Once international travel picks up again, Qantas will be in a unique position, just like the few airlines that will survive this crisis. Expediting sunrise will give Qantas the chance to dominate in a niche market no other airlines will compete with.

With fuel prices through the floor, subdued international travel demand for at least the next 2-3 years and little appetite for capital expenditure, there really is zero business case to purchase new aircraft anytime soon. I’d imagine a similar decision has been made regarding JQs A321neos, unless there is a post COVID 19 LCC battle with a slim-lined Virgin which can justify the capital expenditure to reduce costs.

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with all due respect and I hope that I am wrong, I think that idea is delusional and completely at odds with what Alan Joyce has stated in the article.

mr Joyce has had little appetite to order new aircraft, even in the best of times, so to think that he will put in a billion dollar aircraft order when they are trying to recover a destroyed balance sheet post COVID 19 is hard to believe.

QF is very lucky it hasn’t already committed to the 350 order. One of the things working in their favour is they have underinvested in their fleet over the years and all their “older” type aircraft (747 and older 330) are close to going out the door.

Sunrise will be a big player once it turns around in what 2030?!

Well played AJ- just kidding, who would have thought?!

If the travelling public do baulk at the prospect of transiting through traditional hubs in ME/Asia when this is over, QF will almost certainly look to utilise the existing 787 fleet - which means that the non-stop flights won’t be headed to SYD/MEL.

Darwin? Cairns?

A very different Qantas to paraphrase him. Balance sheet decimated to keep the airline going , once jobseeker finishes mass retrenchments and VR every where means more cash gone. New aircraft order this year , I say no. Next year possibly if things bounce back very quickly.

Don't need VR or CR if indefinite stand-downs are in place. Just furlough workers and tell them their jobs will be waiting for them when able to return. Avoid paying out a cash redundancy that way. And a lot will naturally never return due retirement or career change.

Can’t see much money being spent on VR or CR, certainly not for pilots.

Dre beat me to it and he is right.

I think you will find they can’t do that, that’s my opinion only and I’m not going to enter a debate here about that. Only time will tell.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/...0-5-1029160193

This guy gets a lot more calls right than he does wrong. He is very negative on US airlines. These airlines all have substantial domestic operations, so he appears to be not that confident that even domestic will pick up.

If you don't want to have a discussion about it then can I recommend you don't post your inaccurate information.

It's been confirmed multiple times through Qantas and AIPA webinars that the stand down legislation in the EBA has no legal time frame. I expect the company to make full use of it, as it is a lot cheaper than VR/CR.

You can only be stood down due to an event out of the airlines control (or any company). It can’t be just because they don’t want to stand people up. How you prove it, don’t know, but they can’t just do it forever.

removing the 747 and the A380 from the fleet, is well and truly an event within the airlines control. My 2c

I can't for the life of me see why 'furlough' wouldn't be embraced? Particularly in the case of the Tiger pilots. A company has spent a lot of coin on their training. At some point the industry WILL recover and go beyond where it was prior to the collapse. Surely it's better for an airline to have inducted pilots on recall when needed? Surely it's better than the sack for the affected pilots?

Sure there will be pilots that furlough will hurt, some deeply. But I've known of some pilots putting their hand up (for any number of lifestyle reasons) for a break knowing their job will be there with seniority in place. It also allows those wanting, to take a study break, family break. Sort of win/win.

You are a self opinionated goose.

So, how many in Long Haul are due to hit 65 over the next two training years?

Most likely no 737 slots in that timeframe, at least, to extend the career (not that the majority may necessary want to), so there’s not going to be much choice for them.

Can’t do the old take a slot and then use sick leave to fix the knee/shoulder/etc either at the moment.

If that number is large enough there might be no requirement for CR, etc.

And you are a dinosaur well past your use-by date.

what are peoples thoughts on the rate of recovery ?

I would have thought 50 % of domestic & 25 % of international(not including NZ) after two years(march 2022) would be a great result
remembering international starts from zero early months of 2021

the variable is a vaccine which the medicos say 12 to 18 months "best case" then you have to manufacture & distribute , so very slim
chance of that for early 2021

how do you start international to higher infection countries , will countries just do strict bilateral deals with other low infection countries ? , with all sorts
of pre-screening

maybe my eyes don't work so well but I can't see where the international infection or death rate is flattening , I just see about 6000 passing every day in April

Speaking as PAX, QF have to be very careful or they will lose their top end travellers if they phase out the A380 too early without an adequate replacement. Their 787 interior is the worst J class I've ever flown on a new aircraft, and there's no F. J accounts for about 25% revenue, F for 30%, less than half, the remaining 45%, are from the back of the bus. Keeping up with EK will become harder and harder without Sunrise flights. As long as a single connection is required, EK serve far more destinations in Europe with a fantastically painless transit in DXB. LHR is an unmitigated disaster every single time (I couldn't cock up with such consistency if I wanted to), so that's on my avoid at all cost list. CDG is no better, FRA perhaps is, I don't know? But why stop there? Post COVID people will want to minimise stops. This is the time for bold expansion, slots will be available aplenty. I think they should think big and go hard as soon as the restrictions lift. Put the orders in for double the number of A350s, kit them out with mostly J and F, and fly direct to LHR,CDG,FRA,ZRH or GVA (lots of UN and diplomatic business going that way), maybe add FCO. US is already well covered once JFK has a direct.

Travel will resume. And those who have negotiated themselves into pole position will be the winners.