Qantas's A380 Has Left Melbourne — and Sydney–Singapore Gets It Six Days in Seven (2026)

On 24 October 2026 the last Qantas A380 left Melbourne for Los Angeles, and no Qantas A380 is scheduled to leave Melbourne again. From 25 October every QF93 is a Boeing 787-9, and with the aircraft went the only first class cabin Qantas has ever flown out of the city.

That is the version of this story you will read elsewhere, and it is true. It is also missing the part that actually affects a booking, in both directions.

The lottery that ended on 24 October

Melbourne–Los Angeles has not been an A380 route for some time. The schedule filing that set up this change shows seven weekly flights, of which two were A380s and five were already 787s. From 25 October all seven become 787-9s.

QF93 / QF94, Melbourne–Los Angeles	Until 24 October 2026	From 25 October 2026
Weekly flights	7	7
Operated by A380	2	0
Operated by 787	5	7, all 787-9
First class available	On the two A380 days	Not at all
Economy seats	341 on an A380 day, 166 on a 787 day	166

So the practical change for most passengers is smaller than the headline, and for a few it is total. If you had learned which two days carried the A380, you had a way to book a first class seat and a far roomier economy cabin out of Melbourne. That knowledge is now worth nothing.

It also means the route becomes predictable, which has its own value. Until 24 October, a Melbourne–Los Angeles booking was a coin weighted five to two, and the seat map you looked at in March was not necessarily the aircraft you flew in October. Since 25 October there is one answer.

What the 787-9 gives you instead

Qantas says demand in its business and premium cabins on the route remains strong, but that it has not offset weaker economy demand on Australia–United States flying. The airline also says premium cabin revenue across its international network is growing at twice the rate of economy.

The 787-9 carries about 30 per cent of its seats in premium cabins, a similar share to the A380, so the business and premium economy proportions hold up. What does not hold up is scale. Economy falls from 341 seats to 166, and an aeroplane with less than half the economy cabin is a different flight in every practical respect: fewer lavatories to queue for, less galley traffic, a smaller spread between the best and worst seats, and a much thinner upgrade list.

And there is no first class. The 787-9 is a three-cabin aircraft, so on this route the top cabin is now business.

Where the A380 goes, and the Thursday exception

This is the half of the story that is being left out. The A380s coming off Melbourne are not being parked. From 7 December, Qantas puts the aircraft on Sydney–Singapore QF81 and QF82, replacing the A330 on six days out of seven.

Sydney–Singapore, from 7 December 2026	Aircraft	First class?
QF1 / QF2 (the London service)	A380, daily	Yes
QF81 / QF82, Friday to Wednesday	A380	Yes
QF81 / QF82, Thursday	A330	No

The route goes from seven A380 flights a week to thirteen. On the QF81 and QF82 rotation alone, that lifts first class capacity by 86 per cent and business by 37 per cent, with total capacity up 23 per cent.

And it creates exactly the kind of question this site exists to answer. From 7 December, a Sydney–Singapore booking on QF81 or QF82 is an A380 with a first class cabin on six days of the week and an A330 with no first class on the seventh. The flight number does not change. The fare class does not necessarily change. Thursday is the day that is different.

Singapore is a seven-and-a-half hour sector, which makes this the cheapest and shortest way to fly a Qantas first class seat anywhere on the network — if you book the right day.

The wider picture: this is the A380's last act

Qantas has ten A380s, each configured for 485 passengers across four cabins, and they start leaving the fleet from 2028. The replacement is the A350-1000, which carries a far higher share of premium seats — the Project Sunrise aircraft is 40 per cent premium across just 238 seats, and the airline's chief executive has described the new fleet as more premium seat-dense than the A380, giving more route flexibility.

In the meantime the A380 is being adjusted rather than left alone. Qantas is adding its Economy Plus extra-legroom section to the A380 across 2027, along with high-speed wi-fi. It has not said how many of the 341 economy seats come out, which rows become Economy Plus, or what the pitch will be. Economy Plus is complimentary for Platinum and Platinum One members, and free to Gold members once online check-in opens 24 hours before departure.

Read together with Melbourne, the pattern is clear enough: Qantas is moving the A380 to routes where its enormous economy cabin still sells, and making the economy cabin itself a little better while it waits for the A350s. That is close to the opposite of what British Airways is doing with the same aircraft, which is stripping 88 economy seats out of each one to build the largest business class cabin in the sky.

How to tell which aircraft you are booked on

• Melbourne–Los Angeles, from 25 October. Always a 787-9. No first class, 166 economy seats. There is nothing left to check.
• Sydney–Singapore QF1 or QF2. A380 every day. A four-cabin seat map with a first class cabin at the front of the main deck.
• Sydney–Singapore QF81 or QF82, from 7 December. Check the day. Friday to Wednesday is the A380. Thursday is the A330, which is a two-cabin aircraft — if the seat map shows no first class and no upper deck, that is the A330.
• Sydney–Singapore QF81 or QF82, before 7 December. The A330 daily. The A380 does not arrive on this rotation until December.

What Qantas has not said

• Whether the A380 returns to Melbourne on any route. It has been dropped, not suspended with a date.
• How many economy seats come out of the A380 for Economy Plus, which rows are affected, or what the pitch will be.
• Whether the Thursday QF81 and QF82 rotation stays an A330 beyond the published schedule.
• Any first class fare or award implications of the Melbourne change, for passengers already holding first class bookings on the route.

Frequently asked questions

When was the last Qantas A380 from Melbourne?

24 October 2026, on the Melbourne–Los Angeles service. From 25 October all seven weekly flights are Boeing 787-9s, and Melbourne has no remaining Qantas A380 route.

Does Qantas still fly first class from Melbourne?

Not on its own aircraft from 25 October. The A380 was the only Qantas aircraft with a first class cabin serving Melbourne, and it has left the city. Sydney is now the only place to start a Qantas first class flight.

Was the A380 really flying Melbourne–Los Angeles every day?

No. Two of the seven weekly flights were A380s and five were already 787s. First class was available on the two A380 days only.

Which Qantas flights to Singapore have the A380?

QF1 and QF2, the London service, are daily A380s. From 7 December, QF81 and QF82 are A380s on six days a week, with Thursday remaining an A330.

How much smaller is the economy cabin on the 787?

Considerably. The A380 has 341 economy seats; the 787-9 has 166.

When do the Qantas A380s retire?

Qantas begins retiring the fleet from 2028, replaced by the Airbus A350-1000. Economy Plus is being fitted to the A380s across 2027 in the meantime.

Check your own flight

The Qantas aircraft that carries a first class cabin has moved cities, and from December the route that gets it most often is decided by the day of the week. If you want to see what the replacement fleet looks like, our A350-1000ULR guide covers the aircraft taking over from 2027, and our comparison of the world's longest-flight cabins sets the Qantas approach against Singapore Airlines'. Or browse all aircraft seat guides.

Schedules and aircraft assignments reflect published filings and Qantas statements as at 24 October 2026. Aircraft substitutions happen, and a schedule filed months ahead can move; confirm the seat map for your own flight and date before booking.