When artists have big tours, it’s not uncommon to see them travel in private jets, or in some cases, even charter commercial aircraft. After all, a lot of people and a huge amount of equipment has to be moved. However, chartering an Airbus A380 isn’t something you often see… but that’s exactly what has just happened! I first covered this theory yesterday, but it has now been confirmed.
Qantas A380 operates intriguing Sao Paulo to Sydney charter flight
On Sunday, February 22, 2026, a Qantas Airbus A380 flew from Sydney (SYD) to Sao Paulo (GRU). Specifically, the 14hr49min flight departed at 10:28PM local time, and landed at 11:18PM local time the same night. It was operated by the A380 with the registration code VH-OQA, and had the flight number QF6043. Qantas typically uses flight numbers in the 6XXX range for ferry flights (so without passengers).
The plane didn’t spend a long time on the ground, and on Monday, February 23, 2026, it turned around after just several hours. The 16hr27min return flight departed at 5:49AM local time, and landed back in Sydney at 12:25PM on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. This journey had the flight number QF308. Qantas typically uses flight numbers in the 3XX range for charter flights.
I’m curious about the staffing for this flight — presumably Qantas had to deadhead a crew to Sao Paulo days earlier to work the return flight, and then the crew that ferried the plane to Sao Paulo will have to deadhead back to Sydney on a separate flight.
Yes, Bad Bunny chartered this Qantas A380 for his crew
It’s not every day that you see an Airbus A380 chartered for an ultra long haul flight, so it can be fun to speculate as to what’s going on.
Specifically, American superstar Bad Bunny (yes, Puerto Rico is part of the United States, who knew?!) is currently on his “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” world tour. He performed on February 21, 2026, in Sao Paulo, and his next show is on February 28, 2026, in Sydney.
Obviously tour logistics are incredibly complicated, in terms of the number of people and the amount of equipment that has to be moved between show locations. While efforts are typically made to minimize distances between show locations, moving between Brazil and Australia is quite a trek. There are two challenges that make this particularly complicated:
- There are no nonstop regularly scheduled flights between the two countries, which limits options
- The journey between Brazil and Australia is one of the most remote air routes in the world, and there are a limited number of aircraft that can operate it (in terms of range needed, ETOPS requirements, etc.)
Given that the Bad Bunny tour involves moving a lot of people and a lot of equipment, it very much tracks that this charter flight between the two countries would be for that purpose. This has now been confirmed by AFR, with the return flight reportedly having 223 passengers and 22 crew members (thanks to Adele for flagging this). Qantas’ Airbus A380s are equipped with 485 seats, including 14 first class seats, 70 business class seats, 60 premium economy seats, and 341 economy seats.
It goes without saying that this is a massive expense. We’re talking about chartering an A380 for 30+ hours of flying. I have to imagine that this costs north of a million bucks, when all is said and done. It’s pretty wild that there are actually only two shows in Sydney, before the tour continues to Tokyo, which is once again a distance away. So that’s quite a bit in expenses that has to be allocated to those two performances.
Bottom line
A Qantas Airbus A380 has just operated a charter flight from Sao Paulo to Sydney, hours after having arrived in Sao Paulo. The purpose of this charter has now been confirmed, and it’s what most of us expected — it’s for Bad Bunny and his crew, as he’s on a big tour. Given the number of people who had to be moved between the two cities, plus the lack of commercial flights, I guess the A380 was the best option!
What do you make of this Qantas A380 charter flight?
