Qatar Airways to Resume Airbus A380 Flights to London LHR and Paris CDG

Qatar Airways has announced its plans to resume operating its Airbus A380 superjumbos on select routes in 2023. This decision comes after temporarily reintroducing the A380s in 2021 to compensate for the grounding of some Airbus A350s due to paint issues.

Starting from December 6th, 2021, until March 25th, 2023, Qatar Airways will deploy four of its 10 A380s on the Doha-Perth route as part of seasonal adjustments. Following that, from 2023 until October 29th, the airline will utilize the A380s for two daily flights to London Heathrow and one daily flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle. Subsequently, these routes will be served by other aircraft types like the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787.

CEO Akbar Al Baker emphasized Qatar Airways’ intention to retire the A380s by 2028 and replace them with the more efficient and environmentally friendly A350 family. However, due to unresolved paint quality disputes with Airbus regarding the A350s, the airline needs to maintain some A380s in service.

“We have been very clear that we will only operate our A380 fleet once we see sufficient demand to fill our largest aircraft,” Al Baker stated. “Unfortunately, due to the ongoing issues with our A350 fleet, we have no alternative but to temporarily utilize our A380 aircraft to ensure we can meet our passenger demand.”

Qatar Airways’ A380s feature a total of 517 seats across three classes: 8 in First Class, 48 in Business Class, and 461 in Economy Class. The airline said it will continue to monitor passenger demand and adjust its fleet accordingly. It also urged passengers to check their flight status on its website or app before heading to the airport.