Qantas celebrates 95 years

BANGKOK A newly reconfigured Qantas Boeing 737-800 painted in a vintage 1960s livery has been unveiled in Sydney as the national carrier celebrates 95 years of flying.
Retro Roo II (VH-VXQ) has the same livery that featured on Qantas’ Boeing 707 jets from 1959 to 1961 – when the flying kangaroo helped revolutionise long-haul travel.
Qantas was the first carrier outside the United States to operate B707, a step change in aviation. In 1959, Qantas used it to become the first airline to operate regular passenger jet services across the Pacific Ocean, connecting Sydney and San Francisco.
Qantas was also the first airline to offer a round-the-world jet service with the B707. The flying time was 70 hours compared to 127 hours with the Super Constellation aircraft that the B707 replaced. Today a Qantas flight from Sydney to London stops just once, in Dubai, and takes 21 flying hours.
inside no 4Welcoming the freshly painted jet into a hangar with more than 300 employees, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce described the vintage livery as a flying tribute to the airline’s history of innovation.
“None of the past 95 years would have been possible without all those who have worked for Qantas with such commitment and passion. Tens of thousands of people have dedicated their whole careers to the national carrier and many who work here today are the third or fourth generation in their family to do so,” he added.
“We were the first airline to introduce business class… Innovation is still at the core of Qantas and we’re now looking to a new generation of aircraft with the arrival of Qantas’ first B787 Dreamliners in 2017.”
The arrival of Retro Roo II, which was painted in Townsville, is part of Qantas’ 95th birthday celebrations. Events so far have included an Australia-wide Instameet and Qantas’ charity flight to Longreach, which raised over USD110,000 for drought relief.
Retro Roo II is the second Qantas 737 aircraft in vintage livery. Retro Roo I was launched last November, featuring the livery of 1971 to 1984.
Earlier this year, Qantas donated its record-breaking B747-400 (VH-OJA) to an aviation museum staffed largely by former Qantas employees. The aircraft was significant for operating the world’s longest nonstop flight from London to Sydney in 1989, and is now a big tourism draw for the Illawarra region.
Vision of Qantas’ inaugural Boeing 707 service from Sydney to San Francisco in 1959 can be viewed on Qantas YouTube.

sourced:ttrweekly.com