QANTAS: A380 and First Class dropped from Melbourne to LAX, also 787 changes

Melbourne is losing its Qantas Airbus A380 to Los Angeles. From 25 October 2026, the airline will remove the superjumbo from the route, switching the service to a daily Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner instead.

Currently, the QF93/QF94 Melbourne–Los Angeles flights operate with a mix of aircraft. The Airbus A380 runs twice a week, while the Dreamliner handles the remaining services. Under the new schedule, this will become an exclusively Dreamliner route.

For travellers, that means Melbourne loses both the A380 and Qantas First Class on the trans-Pacific route.

Flight details

The route will now operate daily with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner instead of the Airbus A380, but using the same flight numbers.

Melbourne → Los Angeles

• QF93 Departs Melbourne 10:55, arrives Los Angeles 0600 same day
• QF94 Departs Los Angeles at 20:50, arrives Melbourne 06:45 +2 days

Why the A380 is leaving Melbourne

Qantas says demand for premium cabins remains strong on US routes, but the airline has seen weaker demand in economy cabins between Australia and the United States. That means that the A380s 341 Economy seats are not needed on a daily basis. The route can survive on the 166 Economy seats that the 787 Dreamliner provides. To give you an idea of the different capacities of the A380 and Dreamliner, see the typical cabin configurations:

Qantas A380:

• 14 First Class suites
• 70 Business Class seats
• 60 Premium Economy seats
• 341 Economy seats

Qantas B787-9 Dreamliner:

• 42 Business Class seats
• 28 Premium Economy seats
• 166 Economy seats

Lets put it simply, the Dreamliner has half the economy capacity of the Super Jumbo

Sydney also loses an A380 flight

The adjustment isn’t limited to Melbourne.

Also from 25 October the Sydney–Los Angeles route, currently operated daily by Airbus A380 will be trimmed from seven to six flights per week.

Looks like the market between the USA and Australia is on the decline, as has been reported. It will be interesting to see if there is any increase in demand on this alternate route to Europe and the UK, if the war in the Middle East continues. Qantas may choose to alter this decision, or maybe just increase its flights using Singapore as a refueling stop, see below.

More A380s head to Singapore

The A380s removed from the Melbourne to Los Angeles route will be deployed on the Sydney–Singapore corridor, where demand is predicted to be stronger. That route will be scheduled to see daily A380 service, boosting capacity between Australia and Southeast Asia.

Domestic Dreamliner trips for Melbourne travellers to Perth return

Also from 25 October, the Perth–London Dreamliner service (QF9) will return to beginning its journey from Melbourne.

This brings back the popular domestic Melbourne–Perth Dreamliner leg, which disappeared back in July 2024, and is sorely missed by regular travellers.

Expect the schedule to look something like this:

• QF9 Departs Melbourne at 16:15, arrives Perth 18:20
• QF10 Departs Perth 14:30, arrives Melbourne 20:30

2PAXfly Takeout

The Dreamliner domestic trip between Melbourne and Perth is a favourite of travellers in the know, because Platinum’s and above can spend time in the Melbourne Qantas First Class lounge before their flight. That’s a major improvement on the domestic Business Lounge. The cabin upgrade to a 787 Dreamliner from the 737 domestic configuration is also covetted. Who doesn’t prefer a sleeper seat over a recliner in Business Class?

Melbourne losing A380 service to Los Angeles and consequently a First Class cabin will hurt a small group of passengers – about 14 per flight! Still, if you want First Class, you can always travel from Melbourne via Sydney.