MELBOURNE- Qantas (QF) will end its scheduled Airbus A380 operations from Melbourne Airport (MEL) on October 24, 2026, when its final superjumbo service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) completes the route. The move will leave Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) as the only Australian airport from which Qantas schedules its double-deck aircraft, marking a significant change in the airline’s deployment of its flagship widebody fleet.
The change comes 18 years after Qantas began operating the Airbus A380 from Melbourne, initially connecting the Victorian capital with Los Angeles. From October 25, the route will be served exclusively by the Boeing 787-9, reducing passenger capacity and removing first class from the Melbourne–Los Angeles service.
Final Melbourne A380 Flight for Qantas
Qantas Flight QF94 is scheduled to depart Los Angeles on October 22 and arrive in Melbourne on October 24, completing the final scheduled A380 arrival at the airport. The aircraft is then scheduled to operate QF93 back to Los Angeles on October 24, ending the type’s regular use on the route.
The Melbourne–Los Angeles service has been the last remaining Qantas A380 route from MEL, operating twice weekly. The airline has used the superjumbo on the long-haul connection for years, making the withdrawal a notable milestone for its Melbourne operations.
Qantas first operated a scheduled A380 service from Melbourne on October 20, 2008, when the aircraft began flying to Los Angeles. The service started four days before the airline’s commercial A380 debut from Sydney, establishing Melbourne as an early destination for the aircraft.
The final departure will end approximately 18 years of scheduled Qantas A380 operations from Melbourne. Although the airline will no longer schedule the aircraft from MEL, other carriers will continue to operate the type at the airport.
Boeing 787-9 Replaces Qantas’ A380 Services
From October 25, Qantas will operate the Melbourne–Los Angeles route with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft has a 236-seat configuration, compared with the A380’s 485 seats, resulting in a substantial reduction in capacity on each flight.
The switch will remove 249 seats per departure, or 498 seats across a round trip, based on the stated aircraft configurations. Qantas will maintain a daily service using the smaller aircraft, increasing the frequency compared with the A380’s twice-weekly schedule.
The cabin change will also affect premium passengers. The Boeing 787-9 does not offer first class in this configuration, while business-class capacity will fall by 16%, premium economy by 25% and economy by 23%, according to the supplied schedule analysis.
Despite the lower overall seat count, the aircraft allows Qantas to continue serving the route daily with a different balance of cabin capacity. The move reflects a shift away from the high-capacity superjumbo on this particular route rather than the complete retirement of the A380 from Qantas’ fleet.
Emirates, Singapore Continue A380 Flights
Qantas’ withdrawal will leave Emirates and Singapore Airlines as the two remaining scheduled Airbus A380 operators at Melbourne Airport. Emirates is scheduled to maintain two daily A380 services, using a four-class aircraft configured for 484 passengers.
Singapore Airlines also continues to operate the A380 between Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Melbourne, with daily service reported in the supplied schedule information. The carrier returned the type to the route in March 2026 after earlier periods of A380 operations.
Qantas retains 10 Airbus A380s, each configured for 485 passengers, with an average fleet age of approximately 17.1 years. The aircraft will continue to operate from Sydney, keeping the superjumbo in the airline’s long-haul network even as Melbourne loses its scheduled Qantas service.
The October 24 change therefore marks the end of a long-running aircraft deployment at Melbourne, not the end of Qantas’ A380 operations. Passengers departing from the Victorian capital will instead see the Boeing 787-9 become the sole aircraft type on the airline’s Los Angeles route.
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