Qatar Airways

has increased its daily Airbus A380 frequencies to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) for the upcoming summer season, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. The news comes as the Southeast Asian country expects a record 40 million tourists to arrive in Thailand in 2025.

Bangkok gets a boost

According to Cirium data, the Doha-based carrier will deploy its Airbus A380 aircraft on the Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) route 11 times per week, beginning June 28, 2025. The increased summer frequencies to Bangkok will continue through October 25, 2025.

Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Abs | Shutterstock

Qatar Airways initially planned to operate daily flights between Doha and Bangkok. However, rising demand likely prompted the airline to increase frequencies. It is worth noting that Thailand, a major tourist destination, experiences its rainy or ‘monsoon’ season from July to October. While the early months bring heavy rainfall, it tends to be sporadic, often lasting just a few hours.

Currently, Qatar Airways has a total of 10 Airbus A380s in its fleet, with an average age of 9.6 years. According to ch-aviation data, seven of the A380s in its fleet are actively flying. The airline’s A380s can accommodate a total of 517 passengers in a three-class cabin layout: 461 in economy class, 48 in business class, and eight in first class.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways announced the retirement of its Airbus A380

superjumbo fleet, deeming it financially unviable. Former Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker even told Simple Flying that purchasing the Airbus A380 was the airline’s biggest mistake. However, pent-up demand in the post-pandemic era led to the return of the world’s largest passenger aircraft to service.

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​​Qatar Airways CEO: The Airbus A380 Was Our Biggest Mistake

Although Qatar Airways initially planned to retire its Airbus A380 fleet in 2025, the airline has once again reconsidered. The airline’s relatively new CEO, Badar Al Meer, reaffirmed Qatar Airways’ commitment to the A380, emphasizing that changing circumstances have made the superjumbo the best option for routes with airport capacity restrictions. Commenting on the Airbus A380, Al Meer noted in 2024:

“We have so many restrictions and so many airports around the world that the A380 is the best option to operate to certain airports. For example, the A380 is the best option for us when we are restricted on the number of flights we can make to Australia.”

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Qatar Airways Is Committed To Keeping The Airbus A380 For Longer

The new CEO noted that 2024 should have been the date it was phased out, but things have changed a lot in the last few years.

Where else does Qatar Airways operate its A380s?

In addition to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Qatar Airways operates its Airbus A380 fleet to London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), Perth Airport (PER), and Sydney Kingsford International Airport (SYD).

Photo: Arseniy Shemyakin Photo | Shutterstock

However, recent developments indicate that Qatar Airways will cut Airbus A380 flights to Perth. This change aligns with Virgin Australia’s launch of Perth-Doha flights in June, operated using Boeing 777-300ERs wet-leased from Qatar Airways.

In December 2024, the carrier announced a temporary suspension of its double-decker services to Western Australia. However, after June 24, 2025, these flights will be permanently discontinued. It remains unclear where the A380 will be redeployed.

Notably, before the pandemic, the superjumbo also touched points including Guangzhou, Melbourne, and Frankfurt, although it’s not clear if or when these will come back.

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Perth Dropped: Qatar Airways Reduces Airbus A380 Network To Just 4 Routes

What will replace it is currently unknown.