Premium #248 – Is the Qantas A380vs 787-9 Math Upside Down?

Last Week, Qantas Chairman Alan Joyce indicated that two 787-9 aircraft were cheaper to operate than one A380.  (CNN’s Jon Ostrower on Twitter: “Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says two 787-9s carry the same number of passengers as an A380, but two 787 flights are “a bit cheaper” than one A380.”) Our economic model and analytics come to the opposite conclusion, which we outline below.

There is no question that A380 is a very economic aircraft if you have the traffic to consistently fill it.  The numbers from our operating cost model continue to indicate that, even using the generous seating configuration used by Qantas, that its A380 remains an efficient solution for markets with strong traffic flow.