Fourth jumbo for qantas

Qantas will increase superjumbo flights to London and Los Angeles after receiving its fourth Airbus A380 - the world's largest passenger aircraft...

Sydney to London A380 services will increase from three to five per week, and Sydney to Los Angeles services from three to four per week.

The news comes after the airline cited a drop in passengers on its London and Los Angeles routes for a fall in profits.

Last week, Qantas booked a $117 million net profit for the 12 months to June, down from $969 million in the prior year.

Qantas also announced plans to cut costs by $1.5 billion over the next three years, starting with a target of $500 million this financial year.

Key components of the cost cutting plan include reconfiguring aircraft, including the superjumbo A380, technology advancements and fuel conservation.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said the Los Angeles and London routes were "the biggest issue" and were suffering significant losses at the moment as a result of a high level of competition, a high level of discounting and a drop in business traffic.

He said the two routes were very dependent upon "premium" traffic, which was down 20 to 30 per cent as a result of the global financial crisis.

"So as the economy turns, as the business market comes back, those routes will improve," Mr Joyce said.

The airline is set to receive two more A380s by the end of the year, with a further three due to be delivered in 2010.

The new aircraft is named Fergus McMaster in honour of one of the airline's founders and its first chairman. The first three Qantas A380s are named: Nancy-Bird Walton, after the first woman to fly a commercial aviation service in Australia; and Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness, the two other founders of Qantas. Hudson Fysh was also Qantas' first managing director.

Source: www.theage.com.au