Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) has placed a tentative order for twenty A220-300s and twenty A321-200NX(XLR)s, with a further 94 purchase options for the A220 and A320neo Family aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of B717-200s and B737-800s.

The Australian carrier said that it had selected Airbus after "a detailed review by the airline's engineering, flight operations, customer experience, network, fleet procurement and finance teams", following a Request for Proposals issued in October 2020. It also evaluated B737 MAX and E2 family aircraft.

"This was a very tough choice to make. Each option delivered on our core requirements around safety, capability and emissions reductions. But when you multiply even small benefits in areas like range or cost across this many aircraft and over the 20 years they'll be in the fleet, Airbus was the right choice as preferred tenderer," Chief Executive Alan Joyce said.

He underlined that one of the core advantages of Airbus was the flexibility related to the two types and multiple variants available to the airline. While the first batch will be firmed at twenty A220-300s and twenty A321-200NX(XLR)s, Qantas said that it retained the ability to adjust the types covered by the 94 purchase rights in the future. It underlined that the purchase rights could also include A220-100s. Joyce stressed that by placing the tentative commitment now, Qantas secured prices "just ahead of what's likely to be a big uptick in demand for next-generation narrowbody aircraft".

Qantas' in-house narrowbody fleet currently comprises seventy-five B737-800s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. Twenty B717-200s are operated on behalf of the carrier by its subsidiary Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services. Another subsidiary, Network Aviation, operates eleven A320-200s on QantasLink regional services in Western Australia.

The Australian airline underlined that its new order - which is expected to be finalised by the end of June 2022 - will come on top of Qantas Group's existing order for A320neo Family aircraft for its low-cost carrier, Jetstar Airways. The airline has forty-five A320-200Ns, two A321-200Ns, twenty-six A321-200NX(LR)s, and thirty-six A321-200NX(XLR)s on firm order from Airbus. Its current narrowbody fleet is all-Airbus and comprises fifty-one A320-200s and six A321-200s.

Qantas said it had "exciting" plans for new cabins on board its A220 and A321-200NX(XLR)s. It will share the details "in coming months". The airline said it would use the A321neo to add capacity on high-demand trunk domestic routes, but their extended range will also allow Qantas to add new routes. In turn, it will use the A220s on off-peak trunk routes and on regional routes to add extra frequencies.

The aircraft deliveries are scheduled to begin between July 2023 and June 2024 and continue for over ten years. The order has yet to be approved by internal stakeholders, including unions and the carrier's Board of Directors.