BRINGING THE WORLD CLOSER TO AUSTRALIA.

Qantas commemorates 90 years of International flying operations.

 

 

 

 

Article: Jaryd Stock.

Images: Jaryd Stock, Tim Bowrey, Brian Stevens, Nathan Sieben, Qantas

 

On April 17th Qantas held celebrations commemorating 90 years of international flying, marking an incredible milestone in the evolution of the aviation industry and nine decades of connecting Australia with the rest of world.

On 17 April 1935, Qantas operated Australia’s first international passenger flight from Brisbane to Singapore, carrying two customers on a De Havilland DH-86 Express aircraft. The flight took three and a half days with 16 stops along the way.

 

 

Qantas operated 10-passenger DH-86 aircraft to and from Singapore where passengers connected with Imperial Airways flights to India, the Middle East and Europe.

Flights took 3.5 days each way with night stops at Cloncurry, Darwin and Rambang, as a comparison the current average flying time between Brisbane and Singapore today is 8 hours on a Qantas Airbus A330.

No cabin crew were carried on the first international services, instead the First Officer handed out drinks and sandwiches.

Almost a century later, over 273 million customers have flown across the Qantas international network which now spans 56 routes to 34 destinations in 25 countries around the world.

 

 

During its 90 year history of operating international flights, Qantas went on to operate a number of aircraft types on its international routes from PBY Catalinas and Consolidated LB-32 Liberators after World War 2 in the 1940’s transitioning into the jet age of travel in 1959 operating Boeing 707-138 and then the 707-338 aircraft.

The 1960’s saw worldwide expansion of new destinations and air routes with Qantas ‘V-Jets’ opening new air pathways including the exotic ‘Fiesta Route’ to London via Tahiti, Mexico and the Caribbean.

In 1963 the last Qantas Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft which was a stalwart of the flying kangaroos fleet retired leaving an impressive feat, The Qantas Super Constellation fleet flew 64 million miles around the globe between 1947 and 1963.

 

 

With the role out of the Boeing 747-100 Jumbo Jet at Boeing’s Everett Plant in 1968 air travel became more affordable, and with the introduction of the 747-238 in 1971 into the airlines service more Australians could see the world.

Between 1979 and 1985, Qantas operated an all-747 fleet. The delivery of the first Qantas Boeing 747-438 aircraft in 1989 was a record-breaking non-stop flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sydney Kingsford-Smith airport.

During the 1980’s Boeing’s latest twin engined wide body aircraft at that time was the 767-200, and that aircraft began its service in the Qantas fleet with the Boeing 767-238ER (Extended Range) conducting flights from 1984. Seven 767-200ER’s were ordered by Qantas with the airline eventually having operated forty six 767 aircraft with the last passenger flight being operated on December 27th 2014.

 

 

Qantas continued to grow during the 1990’s having amalgamated Australian Airlines formerly known as Trans Australian Airlines into the airline and operating new services internationally.

As with the 747-100 program, In the early 1990s, Qantas was one of eight major airlines working with Boeing on the design of the newest widebody aircraft being built by the manufacture the Boeing 777.  Yet despite being part of the design group, Qantas never acquired any 777s.

In 2001 Qantas announced that it was placing an order for the new Super Jumbo being developed by Airbus the A380.

 

Twelve Super Jumbos would be purchased, along with that announcement Qantas was also procuring the A330-200 which began its service a year later, firstly between cities in Australia, then eventually conducting international operations between Australia and New Zealand, and South East Asia.

The first A380 arrived from Toulouse in September 2008 with all twelve aircraft delivered by 2011. The aircraft now operate to Johannesburg, Singapore, London and Los Angeles.

 

 

Boeing 787’s were introduced into the Qantas fleet in 2017, with fourteen of the aircraft ordered. An Additional four 787’s have been ordered and will arrive by 2027 to replace the Airbus A330 fleet.

Moving into the next 90 years Qantas will spearhead its Project Sunrise which is the development of direct flights from the east coast of Australia to Europe and New York.

The airline challenged aircraft manufactures Boeing and Airbus to develop an aircraft that can conduct Hub to Hub flights direct. Airbus won the competition and was awarded a contract for twelve A350-1000 aircraft in 2022.

 

 

Airbus was further awarded a contract for the replacement of the Boeing 737 in service with the A320 and A321XLR NEO aircraft which will open up more capacity and destinations particularly within South East Asia for the Flying Kangaroo.

Reflecting on 90 years of international flight Qantas Chief Executive Officer of International operations Cam Wallace said the anniversary is a proud moment in the national carrier’s history.

“Our first international flight took over three days to reach Singapore from Brisbane, carrying just a few passengers and making more than 15 stops. Fast forward to today and we’re flying thousands of passengers daily on nonstop services between Australia to Singapore and over 7.6 million customers travelled on our broader international network in 2024 – a powerful reflection of how far international travel has come.”

 

 

“We’re incredibly proud of our history, but equally excited about what’s ahead. This year will see more growth across the Qantas international network, with the launch of flights from Melbourne to Honolulu next month and Sydney to Sapporo later in the year.”

“We also look forward to the arrival of our new A350 aircraft, which will reshape what’s possible in ultra-long-haul travel with the introduction of our Project Sunrise non-stop flights from Sydney to London and New York.”

 

 

To mark the occasion, Qantas is giving Australians a unique look at its history by unveiling a collection of historical content from its official archives, providing a fascinating snapshot of the aviation industry over the past 90 years.

Qantas will also unveil three limited edition amenity kits for Business customers featuring art from Qantas’ historic archives. The amenity kits will roll out across the Qantas network in the coming months.