Dozens of plane spotters and aircraft enthusiasts crowded the fence at Founders Plaza, their camera lenses and eyes turned toward the sky. At around 1:30, their long-awaited subject comes into view: Qantas’ Airbus A380.
“It’s the only one of that type of plane that we see here,” said Walt Zwirko with the Runway DFW Youtube channel. “We haven’t seen any for several months. Now we’re getting to see one … and I think it has people excited.”
The double-decker airplane made its anticipated return to DFW International Airport Monday on the Sydney, Australia-to-Dallas route after Qantas suspended the operation five years ago. This is the first Airbus A380 to make an appearance at one of the world’s largest airports since British Airways ended its operation of this plane to DFW at the end of March.
The aircraft measures 238 feet in length with a wingspan of 260 feet. That’s 63 more feet of wing than the Boeing 787-9.
“[It] looks like it shouldn’t even be able to go up in the sky, and yet it does,” Zwirko said. “It’s fun to see, and it’s nice to have that connection with our friends in Australia.”
Enthusiasts traveled from far and wide, setting up in lawn chairs and umbrellas just to watch the plane touch down.
“I’ve been watching airplanes since I was about six years old,” Reno resident M.R. Rice said. “I’ve seen the Airbus from British Airways land here one time, but not one with Qantas.”
A model of a Qantas Airbus A380-800 sits on a bench at DFW Founders’ Plaza as people wait for one to land at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
After initially suspending their operation of the plane into DFW because of the pandemic, Qantas decided to bring the route back due to the demand reflected in the Dallas-Fort Worth market and Texas as a whole.
“I[t] shows real confidence in what we’re seeing and also represents a really significant milestone in our international rebuild post-COVID,” Ash Howell, the airline’s executive vice president of the Americas, said.
DFW Airport in particular is a strong hub for Qantas, given the airline’s partnership with Fort Worth-based American Airlines.
Naomi, 6, plays on the ‘Share the Dream’ sculpture while visiting DFW Founders’ Plaza in Grapevine with her grandfather, Habteab Tedros, on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. People gathered at the plaza to watch Qantas flight QF 7, an Airbus A380-800, land at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Howell also said it’s a good time to resume the DFW-to-Sydney route given it’s just ahead of the peak southern summer period.
“It’s also been a sort of bucket list sort of destination for a lot of American travelers pre-COVID. And now I think it’s shifting from the bucket list to the to-do list, which is great, you know, we’re seeing … a lot of increased travel down to Australia,” he said.
With the A380, Qantas is able to offer significantly more seats. Compared to the 236 seats on the 787 Dreamliner craft that operate on this route, the A380 can offer 485 seats as well as a full, four-class configuration — first class, business, premium economy and economy.
“I think that’s super exciting to be able to offer increased seats, particularly in the premium cabins,” Howell said. “We’re seeing very strong demand post-COVID for premium travel, and I think it’s also super exciting that we are seeing increased demand down to Australia.”
This particular aircraft is the ninth plane in Qantas’ A380 fleet to be reintroduced after the pandemic. As a result, the A380 will fly only four times a week along this route, with the Dreamliner flying the other three days.
Howell explained that the reintroduction of the A380s has taken quite a bit of time due to necessary upgrades for the aircraft that were parked in the Mojave Desert for several years.
“You have to go through major cabin refresh and overhaul, heavy maintenance overhaul,” he said. “Unfortunately, all the other airlines were trying to reestablish their fleets at the same time, and those supply chain congestions that we experienced during the COVID period … are still enduring.”
Despite the delays, Qantas will reintroduce its 10th A380 on Jan. 1, which will allow the airline to upgrade the DFW-to-Sydney route to a daily flight on the double-decker aircraft.
Through its partnership with American Airlines, Qantas is also planning to increase capacity out of Dallas into Melbourne over the November to January period.
