Qantas fleet history

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Boeing 707 and Boeing 747-200 at Longreach's Qantas Founders Outback Museum Qantas Boeing 707 and Boeing 747-200 at Longreach's Qantas Founders Outback Museum.jpg
Boeing 707 and Boeing 747-200 at Longreach's Qantas Founders Outback Museum

Qantas has had a varied fleet since the airline's inception. Following its foundation shortly after the end of the First World War, the first aircraft to serve in the fleet was the Avro 504K, a small biplane. Starting with a delivery of seven Boeing 707 aircraft, [1] the airline's fleet entered the jet age in 1959.

Contents

First aircraft

Avro Dyack, the first Qantas plane, ca.1921 Avro Dyack used by QANTAS ca. 1921.jpg
Avro Dyack, the first Qantas plane, ca.1921

Qantas' first aircraft was an Avro 504K (a replica of which can be seen at Sydney Airport's Qantas Domestic Terminal 3 on departures level) with a 100-horsepower (74 kW) water-cooled Sunbeam Dyak engine. By 1921 it also operated a Royal Aircraft Factory BE2E with a 90-horsepower (67 kW) air-cooled engine.[ citation needed ]

Qantas inaugurated its three-day-long Short Empire Flying Boat service between Rose Bay and Singapore-Kallang Airport in the late 1930s. The run had stopovers in Townsville, Darwin and Surabaya. The service was replaced in 1943 by a long-range service, the Catalina flying boat. [2]

World War II

During World War II, Qantas operated flying boats on the Australia-England route in cooperation with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). After Italy entered the war in June 1940, this became the Horseshoe Route between Sydney and Durban in South Africa with the South Africa - UK stage being by sea. This service was a vital line of communication between Australia and the United Kingdom. [3]

In June 1943 Qantas employed 5 Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats—obtained under Lend-Lease through the British Air Ministry—to establish a route between Perth in Australia and Colombo in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) over the Indian Ocean. Becoming known as The Double Sunrise, this route remains the longest non-stop commercial flight ever undertaken, requiring between 27 and 32 hours to complete (depending on winds). Over the next two years, 271 crossings took place. [4] [5]

Starting in June 1944, Qantas augmented the Catalinas with the first of two converted Consolidated Liberator bombers, which could complete the Australia–Ceylon journey in substantially less time with a much larger payload. The route was named Kangaroo Route and marked the first time that Qantas' now-famous kangaroo logo was used; passengers received a certificate proclaiming them as members of The Order of the Longest Hop. [5]

In June 1945, Avro Lancastrians were introduced on the Australia–England service, with the Liberators and Catalinas being shifted to other routes. [5]

Post War era

In accordance with the Lend-Lease agreement, the five modified Catalinas used for Double Sunrise service were scuttled after the war. However, Qantas obtained seven former Royal Australian Air Force Catalinas, using them to serve outlying South Pacific islands. The last two Catalinas were retired in 1958. [4]

After World War II Qantas modernised its fleet with Lockheed Constellation aircraft, commencing with six L-749 Constellations from 1947. [6]

In 1949, Douglas DC-4 Skymasters were obtained, replacing Lancastrians on some routes. [5]

In 1950, Qantas introduced the first of five Short Sandringham flying boats which flew from the Rose Bay flying boat base on Sydney Harbour to destinations in New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji, New Guinea and Lord Howe Island. Two of these were purchased from TEAL and the other three were purchased from BOAC. These were in service through to 1955. [7]

From 1954, Qantas placed into service the first of sixteen L-1049 Super Constellation aircraft, which would remain in the fleet through to 1963. [6] By 1956 the airline was operating 34 propeller-driven aircraft. Qantas carried a record number of passengers to the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, and also carried the Olympic flame [8] into the Southern Hemisphere for the first time on its longest ever trip, from Athens to Darwin. [9]

Jet Age

A Boeing 707 at Frankfurt Airport in 1972 Boeing 707-338C VH-EBR Qantas FRA 01.07.72 edited-2.jpg
A Boeing 707 at Frankfurt Airport in 1972

Qantas entered the Jet Age in July 1959 with Boeing 707 services to the United States. The service was extended to London via New York. Sydney to London services via Bombay began in October 1959. [10] With the certification of the turbofan engine, Qantas modified its existing 707–138 fleet with the turbofans, naming its Boeing 707 aircraft V-Jets, from the Latin vannus, meaning “fan” as commonly accepted, but really standing for “thing that blows against the grain”. [11] :50 In total, Qantas took delivery of seven Boeing 707–138s, and a further six 707−138Bs.

From 7 November 1959 until 30 May 1963, Qantas operated six deHavilland Comets, four being wet leased from BOAC. They were crewed by BOAC employees and featured Qantas titles on the fuselage in place of the BOAC titles. [12]

Following this, Qantas placed in service twenty-two Boeing 707-338Cs, which replaced the Boeing 707-138Bs and provided for expansion of the fleet. These entered service in February 1965 and flew through until retirement in March 1979. [13]

From 1971, Qantas operated the Boeing 747-238B, [14] which strengthened its long haul fleet. When the Boeing 707s were retired in 1979, Qantas became the world's only all Boeing 747 operator. [15] In 1981, two short body Boeing 747SPs entered the fleet for flights to Wellington, and they were subsequently used on non-stop flights between Sydney and Los Angeles. [16] [17]

In November 1984, Qantas commenced service with six Boeing 747-338s with an extended upper deck. [17] From 1985, Qantas ceased being an all Boeing 747 operator when the first of seven Boeing 767-238ERs entered the fleet. [15] These were followed by the Boeing 767-300ERs, with the first example delivered in August 1988; [18] seven additional Boeing 767-336ERs were leased and subsequently purchased from British Airways and entering service from August 2000. [19] On its delivery flight in July 1989, Qantas' first Boeing 747-400 flew a record-breaking non-stop flight from London to Sydney in little more than 20 hours that stood until bettered by a Boeing 787 in October 2019. [20] [21] Qantas purchased a total of 60 Boeing 747s with the last delivered in 2003. Fifty-seven were purchased new and three second-hand, it operated a further five leased from other airlines at various stages. [15] The last six Boeing 747-400s were retired in 2020. [22]

In the early 1990s Qantas was one of eight major airlines working with Boeing on the design of the Boeing 777. Despite being part of the design group, Qantas ultimately never acquired any 777s. Several aviation commentators have criticised this decision, as the 777 appears to be a good fit for Qantas' requirements. [23] [ additional citation(s) needed ] While the reasons have never been made public by Qantas, it is believed that various reasons contributed to the decision, such as a Civil Aviation Safety Authority restriction on ETOPS180 operations, errors made by Qantas in the forecasting of future fuel prices which made the 777 appear expensive to operate, and a desire to keep the number of types in the fleet to a minimum.[ citation needed ]

In 2008, Qantas took delivery of the first of 12 Airbus A380s. [24]

1970 fleet

A Boeing 747SP at Wellington Airport in 1981 QANTAS Boeing 747SP, VH-EAA, Wellington, 1981 - Flickr - PhillipC.jpg
A Boeing 747SP at Wellington Airport in 1981
Qantas Airways fleet in 1970 [25]
AircraftTotalOrdersNotes
BAC/Sud Concorde 00Four on option
Boeing SST 00Six on option
Boeing 707-300 [26] 210
Boeing 747-200 04
Douglas DC-3 20
Douglas DC-4 20
Hawker Siddeley HS 125 20Used for pilot training
Lockheed L-188 Electra 10
Total284

Recent retirements

An Airbus A300 at Perth Airport in the 1990s Qantas Airbus A300B4-203 PER Wheatley.jpg
An Airbus A300 at Perth Airport in the 1990s
A Boeing 767 at Sydney Airport in 2012 Qantas Boeing 767-300; VH-OGS@SYD;31.07.2012 666id (7863496018).jpg
A Boeing 767 at Sydney Airport in 2012
A Boeing 747-400ER at JFK Airport in 2016 Boeing 747-438ER 'VH-OEE' QANTAS (30651335401).jpg
A Boeing 747-400ER at JFK Airport in 2016

Qantas operated Airbus A300B4 aircraft after its acquisition of Australian Airlines. The airline also operated Boeing 737-300, Boeing 747-200, Boeing 747SP, Boeing 747-300 and Boeing 767-200ER aircraft.

In 2014, Qantas retired its fleet of Boeing 737-400 aircraft, after the last scheduled service of the type on 23 February. [27]

Throughout 2014, Qantas's Boeing 767-300ER fleet was in the process of a phase-out with the last five operating commercial services operating on 27 December. [28] Four of them were sold to WestJet. [29]

Qantas' oldest Boeing 747-400 (VH-OJA, City of Canberra ) was retired on 8 March 2015 and flown to Shellharbour Airport in order to be donated to the Historical Aviation Restoration Society. [30]

On 13 October 2019, Qantas' final Boeing 747-400 (VH-OJU, Lord Howe Island) was retired after operating QF99 from Sydney to Los Angeles. On 28 March 2020, Qantas operated its last commercial Boeing 747 flight from Santiago de Chile to Sydney. [31] [32]

The final Boeing 747-400ER in the fleet (VH-OEJ, Wunala) departed Sydney on 22 July 2020 as flight number QF7474 doing a flyby of Sydney Harbour, CBD and northern and eastern suburbs beaches followed by a low level overfly of Shellharbour Airport in a final farewell to VH-OJA. On this flight Qantas traced their 'Flying Kangaroo' logo in the sky with its flight path. [33] .

Related Research Articles

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations. It is the third oldest airline in the world, after KLM and Avianca, having been founded in November 1920; it began international passenger flights in May 1935. The Qantas name comes from "QANTAS", an acronym for its original name, "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services", and it is nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo". Qantas is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

Boeing 707 Narrow-body jet airliner family

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Trans Australia Airlines Defunct Australian Airline

Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" project, the entire airline was rebranded Qantas about a year later with tickets stating in small print "Australian Airlines Limited trading as Qantas Airways Limited" until the adoption of a single Air Operator Certificate a few years later. At that point, the entire airline was officially renamed "Qantas Airways Limited" continuing the name and livery of the parent company with the only change being the change of by-line from "The Spirit of Australia" to "The Australian Airline" under the window line with the existing "Qantas" title appearing above.

Jet airliner Passenger aeroplane that is powered by jet engines

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Boeing 747-400 Wide-body airliner, improved production series of the 747

The Boeing 747-400 is a wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting a 10% cost reduction with more efficient engines and 1,000 nmi (1,850 km) more range. Northwest Airlines (NWA) became the first customer with an order for 10 aircraft on October 22, 1985. The first 747-400 was rolled out on January 26, 1988 and it made its maiden flight on April 29, 1988. Type certification was received on January 9, 1989, and it entered service with NWA on February 9, 1989.

TEAL

Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) was the forerunner of Air New Zealand.

Kangaroo Route

The Kangaroo Route refers to air routes flown between Australia and the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere. The route by definition found its name following the unique mode of travel of the kangaroo, the long distance was achieved in hops. The term is trademarked and traditionally used by Qantas, although it is used in the media and by airline competitors.

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Naming of Qantas aircraft

The naming of Qantas aircraft has followed various themes since 1926.

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British Overseas Airways Corporation airline

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<i>City of Canberra</i> (aircraft) Retired B747 aircraft

The City of Canberra is a Boeing 747-438 delivered to Qantas in 1989. During its delivery from the Boeing Everett Factory in the United States, it made a non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Sydney. As of February 2015, this remains the longest non-stop un-refuelled delivery flight by an airliner.

References

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