Qantas Orders Additional A380 Aircraft

Sydney, 29 October 2006

Qantas Airways announced today that it had placed firm orders for eight more Airbus A380s, the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

The Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Mr Geoff Dixon, said the order increased the airline’s commitment to the A380 to 20 aircraft, to be delivered between August 2008 and 2015.

Mr Dixon said the A380 was clearly the most suitable aircraft for Qantas to deploy on dense longhaul routes from Australia to the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and possibly the Middle East.

"Our decision to increase our order has been made after an extensive review of the recent problems at Airbus and the delivery schedule delays of the A380.

"We are convinced that these problems relate to industrialisation issues at Airbus and will be remedied, and in no way relate to the technical capacity of the A380.

"The A380 has breakthrough technology and everything we have seen reinforces our view that it is the best available aircraft for Qantas.

"It will provide unprecedented comfort and space, as well as meeting our payload and range requirements."

source qantas.com.au

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happy flying,

Steve