David Eyre 
Photo © David Eyre
16 February 2012
Qantas has announced a number of cost cutting changes, due to a significant decrease in profit in the first half of the 2011/2012 financial year.
This includes aircraft retirements and changes to their types used on interstate routes to Perth, and Qantas does not rule out further changes to the their fleet plan.
The following changes of interest to Western Australia are listed: •
- Aircraft changes on the following domestic routes to Perth:
- Sydney-Perth (Boeing 747 replaced with Airbus A330 on certain services from 6 May 2012)
- Melbourne-Perth (additional A330 services added from 6 May). •
- Early retirement of two further Boeing 747 aircraft (in addition to the four early B747 retirements announced in August 2011).
- Deferral of Boeing 787-800 deliveries because of manufacturer delays
- Job reductions are expected as a result of aircraft retirements and operational changes.
The current Boeing 747 service is as follows:
- QF581 from Sydney – arrives at Perth 11:50am
- QF582 to Sydney – departs Perth at 1:35pm
