The last of Qantas’ new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet has arrived in Australia. The eight new aircraft are part of the ongoing expansion of the Airline.
The aircraft, named ‘Snowy River’, touched down in Melbourne, after a 19-hour flight from Seattle. Qantas engineers have so far completed a series of pre-service checks, and installed footrests, bassinets, and Qantas-specific safety equipment to prepare for the first scheduled commercial flight for the aircraft on the 27th of July from Melbourne to Perth.
Qantas’s international network has been supported by the arrival of the 787 fleet, which will strengthen the airline's latest international services, notably the Sydney-Auckland-New York route. The airline announced in May 2023 that it would add one million seats to its international network over the next 12 months.
With new aircraft joining the fleet every three weeks on average, the Qantas Groups’s fleet renewal programme has started to take flight.
Cam Wallace, Qantas CEO, said that more aircraft means more flying.
“The arrival of a new aircraft is always an exciting time for our teams across Qantas, and there’s a lot of people who have been involved in getting Snowy River ready for its first passenger flight to London today. There’s a lot more to come as the biggest fleet renewal program in our history continues to ramp up,” said Wallace.
QantasLink’s first 137-seat Airbus A220 aircraft has come together at Airbus’ production facility in Mirabel, Canada. The first of 29 A220 aircraft is expected to arrive in Australia before the end of the year. These aircraft are part of Qantas’ historic fleet renewal order of up to 299 new aircraft to replace and grow its narrowbody fleet.
“This is the eighth new aircraft we’ve added to the Qantas group network this year as we’ve taken delivery of new planes, and we’re on track to add another four over the next six months,” said
Qantas has invited Australians to help name the new fleet, based around the theme ‘native wildlife’. More than 4,000 submissions have already been received, with two weeks remaining for people to submit ideas.
