Qantas

Qantas (pronounced [kwɒntəs]) is the name and callsign of the world's third oldest continuously running independent airline behind KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Avianca. Qantas is an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service." The company is now based in Sydney, New South Wales and it is Australia's largest airline. It is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange as ASX: QAN.

History

Origins

Qantas was founded in Winton, Queensland on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territorial Aerial Service Limited.[1] It operated air mail services subsidised by the Australian government, linking railheads in western Queensland. In 1934, QANTAS Limited and Britain's Imperial Airways (the forerunner of British Airways) formed a new company, Qantas Empire Airways Limited. Each partner held 49%, with two per cent in the hands of an independent arbitrator. [2]

1930 to 1945

Qantas Empire Airways commenced services between Brisbane and Singapore using de Havilland DH-86 Commonwealth Airliners. Imperial Airways operated the rest of the service through to London. In 1938, this operation was replaced by a flying boat service using Shorts S.23 Empire Flying Boats. The Sydney to Southampton service took nine days, with passengers staying in hotels overnight. [3] Most of the QEA fleet was taken over by the Australian government for war service between 1939 and 1945, and most of these aircraft were lost in action. [4] QEA operated a non-stop flying boat service between Perth and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1943-44. The flights operated in complete radio silence and took more than twenty-four hours. [5]

Qantas Boeing 747-400

The Post-War Years - 1945 to 1958

After World War II, Qantas Limited was in dire financial straits and was taken over by the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. The government also purchased the BOAC (formerly Imperial Airways) share of Qantas Limited and incorporated both into Qantas Empire Airways Limited. QEA Limited remained an unlisted public company with the government holding 100 % of the shares. In 1967, the name was changed to Qantas Airways Limited. Subsequent governments maintained this arrangement. [6]

Immediately after World War II, Qantas began operating Avro Lancastrian aircraft between Sydney and London in cooperation with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). In 1948, the airline took delivery of Lockheed L.049 Constellations. The network was expanded across the Pacific in 1954 when Qantas took over the operations of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA). [7]

In 1956, Qantas became the first non US airline to order the Boeing 707 jet airliner. Boeing created a special version for Qantas, designated the Boeing 707-138. This aircraft was shortened from the usual version, reducing payload to provide more range for the sectors Qantas had in mind. In 1958, Qantas became an around-the-world airline, operating round-the-world services from Australia to London via Asia and the Middle East (Kangaroo Route) and via the USA and Mexico (Fiesta Route) with Super Constellations. [8]

The Jet Age - 1959 to 1979

The first jet aircraft on the Australian register was delivered to Qantas on 2 July 1959. All of the new turbojet aircraft were converted to upgraded turbofan engines in 1961. Also arriving in 1959 were the new turboprop Lockheed Electra aircraft.

Air travel grew substantially in the early 1960s, leading Qantas to order the larger Boeing 707-338C series of aircraft. In 1966, the airline diversified its business by opening the 450 room Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. The same year, Qantas placed early options on the new Concorde airliner. At the time supersonic flight was thought of as the way of the future, but along with most airlines in the world the orders were eventually cancelled.

In 1967, the airline placed orders for the new Boeing 747. The aircraft could seat up to 350 passengers, a major improvement over the Boeing 707. Orders were placed for four aircraft with deliveries commencing in 1971. The later delivery date allowed Qantas to take advantage of the -200B version, which better suited its requirements.[9]

When Cyclone Tracy devastated the city of Darwin at Christmas 1974, Qantas established a world record by flying the most people on an aeroplane - 673 people in a Boeing 747. [10] They also established a record for the amount of people embarked in a Boeing 707 - 327 people on VH-EAH. [11] Later in the decade, Qantas placed options on two McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft for flights to Wellington, New Zealand. These were not taken up, and two Boeing 747SP was ordered instead. In March 1979, Qantas operated its final Boeing 707 flight from Auckland to Sydney, and became the only airline in the world to operate Boeing 747s exclusively.

1980 to 1999

The Boeing 767-200 was introduced in 1985, [12] for New Zealand, Asia and Pacific routes. The same year, the Boeing 747-300 was introduced, featuring a stretched upper deck. The Boeing 747 fleet was upgraded from 1989 with the arrival of the new Boeing 747-400 series. The delivery flight of the first aircraft was a world record, flying the 18,001km from London to Sydney non-stop.

In 1990, Qantas established Australia Asia Airlines to operate services to Taiwan. Several Boeing 747SP and Boeing 767 aircraft were transferred from Qantas service. The airline ceased operations in 1996. [13]

The Australian Government approved the purchase of Government owned domestic carrier Australian Airlines by Qantas, completing this in August 1992. This gave Qantas access to the national domestic market for the first time in its history. The purchase saw the introduction of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A300 to the fleet - though the A300s were soon retired.[14]

A Qantas Boeing 747-438 flies low over the roofs of Myrtle Avenue near London Heathrow Airport.

Qantas was privatised in 1993, with British Airways taking a 25% stake in the airline for A$665m. By law, Qantas must be at least 51% Australian-owned, and the level of foreign ownership is constantly monitored.

In 1998, Qantas co-founded the oneworld alliance with American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, and Cathay Pacific. The alliance commenced operation in February 1999, with Iberia and Finnair joining later that year. Oneworld markets itself at the premium travel market, offering passengers a larger network than the airlines could on their own. The airlines also work together to provide operational synergies to keep costs down.

2000 to the present

The main domestic competitor to Qantas, Ansett Australia, collapsed on 12 September 2001. Market share for Qantas immedately neared 90%, with the relatively new budget airline Virgin Blue holding the remainder. In order to capitalise on this event, Qantas ordered Boeing 737-800 aircraft - obtaining them a mere three months later. This unusually short time between order and delivery was possible due to the terrorist attacks in New York City on 11 September - the subsequent downturn in the US aviation market meant American Airlines no longer needed the aircraft they ordered. The delivery positions were reassigned to Qantas on condition the aircraft remained in American Airlines configuration for later possible lease purposes.

At the same time, Virgin Blue announced a major expansion in October 2001 [15] which was successful in eventually pushing the Qantas domestic market share back to 60%. To prevent any more competitors entering the market and further de-stabilising the industry, Qantas responded by creating a new cut-price subsidiary airline Jetstar. This has been successful in keeping the status quo at around 65% for Qantas group and 30% for Virgin Blue with other regional airlines accounting for the rest of the market.

Qantas has also expanded into the New Zealand domestic air travel market, firstly with a shareholding in Air New Zealand and then with a franchise takeover of Ansett New Zealand. It now wholly owns and operates JetConnect which operates New Zealand domestic services.

Qantas had also developed a full-service all economy international carrier focused on the holiday and leisure market, which had taken on the formerly used Australian Airlines name. This airline ceased operating its own liveried aircraft in July 2006, the assets being absorbed back into the parent company. However, Australian Airlines continues to exist as a "wet lease" company, operating and crewing Qantas aircraft on Qantas routes.

On 13 December 2004, the first flight of Jetstar Asia Airways took off from its Singapore hub to Hong Kong, marking Qantas' entry into the Asian cut-price market. Qantas owns 44.5% of the carrier.

Qantas will receive 45 Boeing 787-8s beginning in 2009.

On 14 December 2005 Qantas announced an order for 115 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft (45 firm orders, 20 options and 50 purchase rights). [16] The aircraft will allow Qantas to replace their current 767-300 fleet, increase capacity and establish new routes. Jetstar, Qantas' low-cost subsidiary, will also operate 10 of the new aircraft on international routes. The first of the 787s are scheduled to be delivered to Jetstar in August 2008. [17]

Qantas has stepped up the expansion of Jetstar, with the launch of international services (in addition to existing trans tasman and Jetstar Asia flights) to leisure destinations such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and Hawaii from November 2006. On some routes Jetstar will supplement existing Qantas operations but many routes are new to the network. The lower cost base of Jetstar makes these routes feasable.

Qantas is responsible for some of the most successful marketing campaigns in Australian history, with many advertising campaigns featuring renditions by children's choirs of Peter Allen's "I Still Call Australia Home," set to footage of breathtaking scenery. A much earlier campaign aimed at American television audiences featured an Australian koala, who of all things detested Qantas for bringing tourists to destroy his quiet life (his key tagline: "I hate Qantas").

News

2006

Qantas used a small promotional animation on its website to officially announce it will offer inflight internet services on its fleet of A380s.[18]Qantas also announced that it would trial in-flight use of mobile phones on one of its Boeing 767 aircraft. This will allow customers to send emails and text messages on board, while also being able to make phone calls whilst in flight. [19]

Qantas has also launched Online Check in (OLCI) for its domestic Australian flights. Customers are now able to log on to qantas.com 24 hours before their flight departs, select their seat and print a boarding pass, enabling them to bypass check-in at the terminal. [20]

On 28 September at 3am, Qantas flight QF302 was the last flight to depart from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, about 10 minutes after the Kuwait Airways flight that had originally been scheduled to be last.

On October 29, the airline ordered an extra 8 Airbus A380 aircraft bringing the total amount on firm order to 20. All aircraft are due to be delivered between 2008 to 2015. An additional four A330-200 aircraft were ordered to address capacity concerns due to the A380s service entry delay. [21]

Takeover Bid

On 22 November 2006 newspapers reported a possible takeover of Qantas. The deal would give Macquarie Bank 25% of the airline, 25% to other Australian interests, 1% to senior management, and the other 49% to Texas Pacific Group and other foreign investors.[22]

Analysts are speculating that $5.50 per share will be offered. Qantas has stated that the approach is "confidential and incomplete" but was being investigated.

Current operations

Qantas continues to be one of the world's leading large airlines. Its main international hubs are Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport and Melbourne Airport, followed by Singapore Changi Airport. However, Qantas operates a significant amount of international flights into and out of Los Angeles International Airport, London Heathrow Airport, Brisbane Airport, Narita International Airport and Perth Airport. Its domestic hubs are Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports, but the company also has a strong presence in Perth, Adelaide, Cairns and Canberra airports.

Destinations

Further information: Qantas destinations

Fleet

The Qantas fleet consists of the following aircraft as of October 2006:

Qantas Boeing 747-4H6 'Longreach'

The 767-336 and 767-336ER aircraft are leased from British Airways on a long term basis and entered service with Qantas in 2000 and 2001. Qantas 767s are configured with several different seating arrangements. The British Airways aircraft are in a 30 business, 214 economy seat (30/214) configuration inherited from their previous operator and are used exclusively on domestic services, primarily between Melbourne and Sydney. Other 767s in domestic service have a 30/224 configuration. Aircraft configured for services to New Zealand are 25/219 and for other international destinations 25/204. The main difference between domestic and international configurations is 6 abreast seating in domestic business class and 5 abreast in international.

The average age of Qantas fleet was 10 years in August 2006.

Qantas has placed an order for twenty Airbus A380-800, with options for four more. It will be the second airline (after launch customer Singapore Airlines) to receive an A380 and is now expected to receive four aircraft by the end of 2008 and seven by mid-2009, after Airbus reported further delays in the delivery.[23]

On 14 December 2005, Qantas announced an order for 45 Boeing 787s, plus 20 options and purchase rights on 50 more, with some going to Jetstar.[24] The aircraft are a mix of 787-8s and 787-9s. This announcement came after a long battle between Boeing and Airbus to meet the airline's needs for fleet renewal and future routes. Delivery of the 787 will start in 2008, with the 787-9 coming in 2011. Although Qantas did not choose the Boeing 777-200LR it is rumoured that Qantas is still looking into buying planes capable of flying London-Sydney non-stop.

Aircraft fleet naming

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Qantas Co-branded Credit Cards

The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is designed to reward customer loyalty. Points are accrued based on miles flown, with bonuses that vary by travel class, and can be earned on oneworld airlines as well as other partners. Points can be redeemed for flights or upgrades on flights operated by Qantas, oneworld airlines, and other partners.

It is the most popular loyalty program in Australia. Co-branded credit cards are issued by both American Express and ANZ Bank, and a number of other credit cards earn points that can be transferred to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

Qantas Club

Further information: Qantas Club

Codeshare agreements

Qantas has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

However it can be noted these routes are only the major codeshares and codeshares such as within USA, with American Airlines, are not listed.

Trivia

• The first aircraft owned by Qantas was Avro 504K G-AUBG, purchased for £1425. Cruising speed was 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph), carrying 1 pilot and 2 passengers. [29]
• In the 1920s Qantas built a number of aircraft (De Havilland DH50s and a single DH9) under licence in its Longreach hangar. [30]
• In 1928 a chartered Qantas aircraft conducted the inaugural flight of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, departing from Cloncurry. [31]
• The first international destination was to the British colony of Singapore in 1935. [32]
• The first Boeing 707 built for Qantas, VH-EBA City of Canberra, was purchased by the Qantas Foundation Memorial. Now registered VH-XBA it will return to Australia from London via the USA in December 2006.[33]
• VH-EBB was the first Qantas Boeing 707 delivered to the airline in Sydney on 2 July 1959. [34]

Ex-Qantas Boeing 707-138B "V-jet" still in original 1960's livery, now owned by John Travolta

• Once converted to turbofan engines from 1961, Qantas Boeing 707s were nicknamed V jets from the latin vannus meaning fan. [35]
• From 1979 to 1985 Qantas was the only airline in the world to operate a fleet consisting entirely of Boeing 747s. [36]
• Qantas has three planes painted in Australian Aboriginal art liveries: Wunala Dreaming (Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEJ), Nalanji Dreaming (Boeing 747-338 VH-EBU, currently in long term storage) and Yananyi Dreaming (Boeing 737-838 VH-VXB). All three carry striking, colourful liveries, designed by Australian Aborigines. [37]
• Actor John Travolta personally owns and pilots an ex-Qantas Boeing 707-138B painted in the Qantas livery of the 1960s. [38]
• Qantas recently re-introduced hot face towels for economy class on all long haul flights
• Qantas owns 49% of the Fiji-based international carrier - Air Pacific, 50% of Australian Air Express & 50% of Star Track Express (with the other 50% of both companies owned by Australia Post)
• Qantas was recently voted 2nd best airline in the world in the 2006 World Airline Awards (with surveys conducted by Skytrax) behind British Airways [39]
• Qantas is the main and shirt sponsor of the "Qantas Wallabies", the Australian national Rugby Union team.
• In 2002 Qantas was the single most profitable airline in the world

Incidents and accidents

• It is often claimed, most notably in the 1988 movie Rain Man, that Qantas has never had a fatal crash. Qantas is the only airline not to cut that scene from the movie before showing it to passengers. The company's official line is that it has never lost a "jet" aircraft. Prior to the jet era, Qantas had fatal crashes. One was on 16 July 1951, when De Havilland Drover VH-EBQ crashed in New Guinea after an engine failure, killing all seven passengers and crew. Other fatal accidents occurred in 1927, 1934, 1942, 1943 (×2), and 1944. However, the incidents in the 1940s were due to World War II, when the Qantas aircraft were requisitioned by the military.

• On 24 August 1960, Qantas Super Constellation VH-EAC crashed on take off at Mauritius en route to the Cocos Islands. Take off was aborted before V1 after a power drop on the number 3 engine. The plane skidded off the runway and the undercarriage collapsed. None of the 38 passengers and 12 crew were injured. [40]

• On 26 May 1971 Qantas received a call from a "Mr Brown" claiming that there was a bomb planted on a Hong Kong-bound jet and that he wanted $500,000 in unmarked $20 bills. He was treated seriously when he directed police to an airport locker where a functional bomb was found. Arrangements were made to pick up the money in front of the head office of the airline in the heart of the Sydney business district. After Qantas raced around to find two suitcases large enough to hold all the cash, they paid the money and it was safely collected, after which Mr Brown called again, advising the 'bomb on the plane' story was a hoax. The initial pursuit of the perpetrator was bungled by the New South Wales Police who, despite having been advised of the matter from the time of the first call, failed to establish adequate surveillance of the pick up of the money. Directed not to use their radios (for fear of being "overheard") the police were unable to communicate adequately. (Sourced from "The Qantas Extortion Case" by Barry Young, Qantas Public Affairs Department. PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED VICKERS AVENUE, MASCOT.) Tipped off by a still unidentified informer, the police eventually arrested an Englishman, Peter Macari (photo) [41], finding more than $138,000 hidden in an Annandale property. Convicted and sentenced to 15 years' jail, Macari served nine years before being deported to England. Over $224,000 has still not been found. The 1990 movie "Call Me Mr. Brown" directed by Scott Hicks (of "Shine" fame) relates to this incident. On the 4th of July 1997 apparently a second 'copycat' extortion attempt was thwarted early on thanks to the skills of police and Qantas security staff [42]

• On 23 September 1999 Boeing 747-400 VH-OJH, carrying 407 passengers and crew, overran the runway by 220 metres while landing in a severe rainstorm at Bangkok. [43] The aircraft ended up in a golf course, and there were no fatalities. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau criticised numerous inadequacies in Qantas' operational and training processes. [44] Repairs to the nine-year-old aircraft were undertaken in Bangkok and China. The aircraft had suffered extensive damage to the landing gear, engines and the front fuselage. It was widely suggested at the time that it should have been written-off, and unsubstantiated rumours abounded that the cost of the repair was $A100 million. Qantas denied that pressure had been applied to insurers to avoid a hull-loss being recorded so that the airline's safety record would remain intact.

• The following year a 747-300 VH-EBW was damaged when its landing gear collapsed while taxiing at Rome. It returned to service after repairs.

• On 21 August 2005, an incident occurred involving Qantas Airbus A330-300 VH-QPE with 178 passengers and 13 crew aboard. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport in Osaka, Japan after an indication of smoke in the cargo hold. The Osaka Control Tower reported seeing smoke on landing, so an emergency evacuation was declared as a precaution and emergency slides were deployed. Nine passengers were injured and hospitalised. Subsequent investigation found no sign of smoke or fire, and it is believed that the cargo fire sensors were faulty. The aircraft was only 15 months old at the time of the incident.

• On 2 February 2006, a Qantas Boeing 767-300ER VH-OGH, carrying 155 passengers and 11 crew, and a United Airlines 747-400, carrying 99 passengers and 14 crew, were involved in a collision while on the runway at Melbourne Airport. The Qantas aircraft sustained damage to a horizontal stabiliser while the United aircraft damaged a wingtip. The Qantas 767 was parked at the holding point awaiting a take-off clearance when the United 747 taxied into it, causing the damage. United released a statement saying its flight 840 from Melbourne to Los Angeles via Sydney "reported a wingtip touch with a Qantas aircraft as it taxied". No passengers were injured in the incident. Qantas recently hired a new safety officer, Andrew Thrush. [45]

• On 29 May 2006, Qantas Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEE was taxiing to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport when it contacted a blast fence, damaging the starboard winglet. None of the 204 passengers was injured. The winglet had to be removed and replaced. [46][47]

• On 14 August 2006, Qantas Boeing 747-4H6 VH-OED was taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport when it was hit by a baggage cart, damaging an engine. None of the 288 passengers and 16 crew was injured. [48]

• In October 2006 a Qantas de Havilland Canada Dash 8 en route from Melbourne Tullamarine to Wollongong had to make an emergency landing back at Melbourne Airport because there was smoke in the cabin.

Further information: Qantas fatal accidents and Qantas Flight 1#The Accident

External links

• Official Qantas Airways Website
• Qantas Fleet Details
• Qantas fact file
• Qantas Fleet Age
• Qantas Seat Maps and Seat Reviews

• Qantas Passenger Opinions
• Qantas ephemera digitised and held by the National Library of Australia

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