Qantas the Australian pioneer

15 February 2016 by News Desk   |   SHARE  

Qantas is the world's 2nd-oldest airline and also the world’s safest. Its pioneering roots go back to 1919 when its first paying passenger was an 84 yr-old outback explorer.

Almost a century has passed and the world has changed a lot but Qantas still retains its original name – Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services.

“Qantas is now as much a symbol of Australia as the kangaroo,” says Darrell Todd, CEO of thinkingaustralia.

“The two guys who started the airline were pioneers. And it’s no surprise their first passenger was an explorer.”

Starting with air taxi flights, Qantas began regular airmail and passenger services in November 1922 from Charleville to Cloncurry in rural Queensland. (pictured: One of the company’s very first 1920’s planes).

Qantas was founded by Lieutenants Wilmot Hudson Fysh DFC and Paul McGinness DFC when they returned from World War I having served with the Australian Flying Corps. “They were first to realise that air travel was the best way to get around the vast expanse of the country,” says Darrell Todd.

“They had a vision to operate regular flights that linked Brisbane and Darwin, the capitals of Queensland and Northern Territory, with key railway stations and freight depots.”

The airline worked hard to achieve its’ growing success and in 1928 it launched Australia’s first flying doctor service. In 1930 it moved its HQ to Brisbane, then to Sydney in 1938.

Qantas gained its worldwide reputation for high quality standards during WW2 when its’ engineers serviced 298 aircraft, 2,800 aircraft engines and over 24,300 aircraft instruments for the allied forces. Their reputation was such that the label ‘Overhauled by Qantas’ became a guarantee of high quality.

In 1947 Qantas flew its first long-range Lockheed Constellation plane which went into service on the ‘Kangaroo’ Route. Its first Sydney-London flight took off on December 1st 1947 and arrived in UK on 5 December.

Flights to Hong Kong were launched in 1949, services to Japan started in 1950 and to South Africa in 1952.

In the mid 1950s Qantas went truly global. Passenger flights to San Francisco and Vancouver started in May 1954. Two years later the airline flew the Olympic flame from Athens to Darwin as part of its journey to the Melbourne Olympics. In January 1958 Qantas launched its first Round-the-World services with a fleet of Super Constellations planes. Founder Hudson Fysh stayed with the company for 46 years, was knighted and retired as Chairman in 1966.

From the moment the Australian airline entered the Jet Age it was a record-breaker. In 1959 it took delivery of the first Boeing 707 operated by a non-US airline.

And in 1989 its’ first Longreach Boeing 747-400 set a world distance record for a commercial jet when it flew non-stop from London to Sydney. It is now the world’s safest airline.

“For past 100 years Qantas has been a powerful engine of the Australian economy,” says Darrell Todd.

“The name is a byword for safety, reliability and innovation. And today Qantas continues to break records and set standards that other follow. Of course, being Australian, I am biased. But I can’t help feeling a surge of pride every time I set foot on a Qantas plane or see one flying overhead.”

The airline offer services to 182 destinations in 44 countries – 59 in Australia and 123 in other countries (including partner airlines). At last count it carried 41 million passengers on its’ fleet of over 256 aircraft.

For more info go to: The world’s safest airline

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