In an intriguing development, Qantas has added a second daily Airbus A380 service from Sydney to London Heathrow. But there’s a major twist. It’ll only operate once—and only in one direction. It comes amid two notable changes to the airline’s double-decker network.

Unsurprisingly, the airline’s official line for the additional Heathrow service is that it’s doing it to help get home those stranded in Australia, which is due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. Tickets are bookable in the usual way. But as outlined below, is it partly also for a different reason?

Qantas’ Second Daily Heathrow Service

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On Saturday, March 7, two Qantas A380 flights will leave Sydney for the UK’s busiest airport. There’s the usual daily operation, and a special one-off service. The schedule is outlined below.

QF331 is a charter flight number, but don’t misunderstand. Yes, it’s an exceptional service, but tickets are available, or at least have been. As they are full fare, with full flexibility, they are exceptionally expensive. The airline is prioritizing rebooking passengers. The very long, 3h 55m wait in Singapore—arriving at the ungodly hour of 3:25 am and leaving at 7:20 am—must be mainly due to Heathrow’s slots.

Everyone knows that QF1 is a fifth freedom service. Passengers can book tickets between Singapore and Heathrow on a standalone basis. Obviously, the same applies in the reverse direction. But QF331 is different. Seemingly due to a lack of traffic rights, tickets are not bookable between Changi and the UK’s busiest airport.

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Perhaps not. As the eagle-eyed Analytic Flying on X indicated, no return leg is available. QF332 will not be returning from Heathrow to Sydney. As the source suggests,

“It seems that the A380 in question is on its way to a maintenance visit (probably in Dresden, but perhaps in Abu Dhabi). Instead of positioning as an empty leg to Europe or the Middle East, it’ll carry passengers to Heathrow and then position empty for maintenance.”

Of course, it’d cost a lot of money to fly an A380 on such a long trip for maintenance. But as luck would have it, so to speak, the situation in the Middle East means there’s a backlog of people trying to get home. Qantas has seemingly decided to make the most of the situation, and open up ticket sales to Heathrow.

It is not yet known which frame will operate QF331 on Saturday, but we will find out from Flightradar24 soon. Do not misunderstand. Qantas’ approach happens from time to time. It is a sensible way of reducing expenses.

For example, in January 2025, Flightradar shows that VH-OQI left Sydney for Dresden via Singapore, operating as QF6021—a positioning service. Nearly a month later, QF6022 was positioned to Heathrow, before operating QF2 back to Australia. Sistership VH-OQJ, which had operated QF1 to the UK, and then flew empty to Dresden as QF6061.

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Qantas Used To Have Two Daily A380 Flights To Heathrow

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According to Cirium Diio, Qantas’ 485-seat superjumbos have been flown to London since January 2009. It was, of course, from Sydney via Singapore, which continues today. But Qantas also flew the type from Melbourne.

Between January 2010 and March 2013, Qantas operated Melbourne-Singapore-Heathrow on the A380. In March 2013, the stop in Changi changed to Dubai, which was in partnership with Emirates. Melbourne-Dubai-Heathrow double-decker flights existed until March 2018.

Let’s return to March 7, 2018. In that month, nearly eight years ago, QF1 was scheduled to arrive at Heathrow from Sydney via Dubai at 6:45 am. QF9 was scheduled to land from Melbourne via Dubai at 12:40 pm. The airline’s schedule submission shows that it last had two daily bookable A380 arrivals at Heathrow in late March 2018. While what’s coming this Saturday is just a one-off service, it is notable, in its own small way.