Australian flag carrier Qantas is currently undergoing an exciting fleet renewal process. This year has seen the 
oneworld founding member begin to take deliveries of next-generation Airbus A321XLR narrowbody twinjets, and it is also edging ever closer to the arrival of its ‘Project Sunrise’ Airbus A350-1000s.
With this in mind, there could hardly be a better time to take a more detailed look at the current state of the mainline fleet at Qantas. The carrier’s present portfolio of commercial aircraft is a diverse affair, with widebodies and narrowbodies present from both sides of the Airbus-Boeing duopoly. According to ch-aviation, the Australian national airline’s total mainline fleet size currently sits at 133 aircraft, but how are these spread out?
The Advent Of The A321XLR
The biggest news at Qantas this year has undoubtedly been the arrival of the Airbus A321XLR. The first of these long-range single-aisle aircraft arrived in Australia at the start of July, following a mammoth delivery flight from Hamburg that featured a stopover in Bangkok. After operating various test flights, Qantas announced in August that its first two routes would connect Sydney with Melbourne and Perth, with tickets on sale in September.
As it stands, just two A321XLRs have been delivered to Qantas thus far. However, plenty more are on their way, with ch-aviation’s data showing that the Australian flag carrier still has outstanding orders for another 46 examples of the type. The total order book of 48 was confirmed at the end of August, when Qantas signed up for another 20 units of the long-range narrowbody, with Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson saying at the time:
“Investing in new aircraft is one of the most significant ways that we can provide our customers with a better flying experience. These billion-dollar investments are possible because of our continued strong performance.”
Qantas’ Widebody Fleet
At the time of writing, widebody aircraft account for 54 of Qantas’ 133 mainline aircraft, representing a proportion of around 40.6%. Its sole twin-aisle 
Boeing design is the mid-sized 787-9 Dreamliner, of which it presently has 14 examples at its disposal. These twinjets are 6.7 years old on average, compared to a fleet-wide mea figure of 13 years old, and the carrier has another four on order, in addition to eight stretched Boeing 787-10s.
On the Airbus side of things, as pictured above, Qantas is a relatively rare operator of the double-decker A380. There are 10 of these quadjets in the Australian flag carrier’s fleet at present, with an average age of 16.2 years old, and, historically speaking, the airline has also operated another two examples. Per aeroLOPA, these jets have 14 first class suites, 70 business class flatbeds, 60 premium economy recliners, and 341 economy seats.
Even older than these Airbus widebodies are Qantas’ 30 jets from the A330 family. This figure is split between 16 A330-200s and 14 A330-300s, with these designs clocking in at respective average ages of 17.5 and 19.8 years old. Going forward, Qantas will modernize its Airbus widebody fleet with the addition of 24 A350-1000s. These aircraft will be configured to operate non-stop flights to the likes of London and New York in ‘Project Sunrise.’
Qantas’ Narrowbody Fleet
Until recently, when the Australian flag carrier began taking deliveries of the aforementioned Airbus A321XLR, Qantas’ mainline narrowbody fleet was an all-Boeing affair. According to ch-aviation, the airline currently has 77 examples of the popular 737-800 at its disposal, with an average age of some 17.4 years old.
Of these aircraft, 70 are currently listed by ch-aviation as being active, while the remaining seven are presently said to be undergoing maintenance procedures. Historically speaking, the site’s comprehensive database highlights the fact that Qantas has flown another three examples of the 737-800 over the years. According to aeroLOPA, these jets have a grand total of 174 seats onboard, split between 12 in business class and 162 in economy.
