100 years to the day of its first industrial flight, Qantas commemorated the occasion with a recreation flight in outback Queensland.

This week, Qantas commemorated the airline’s first passenger and mail supply flight, which occurred on November 2nd, 1922. On Tuesday, Qantas flight QF6660 set off from Charleville to recreate that first Qantas flight throughout the Queensland outback.

That is the place Qantas began

Photograph: Qantas

Qantas was based in 1920 and spent the primary two years identical to right this moment’s startup airways, getting its home so as and elevating cash to purchase plane. The primary industrial flight was on November 2nd, 1922, when co-founders and pilots Paul McGinness and Hudson Fysh flew the airplane over the distant and barren Queensland outback for 2 days from Charleville to Longreach and Cloncurry. McGinness piloted the open cockpit FK8 biplane from Charleville to Longreach, with Fysh flying the second sector from Longreach to Cloncurry.

The arrival at Longreach

Photograph: Qantas

Fortunately for the relations of the Qantas founders, top-tier frequent flyers and visitors with a connection to early Queensland airmail providers, the commemorative flight was on a Bombardier Q400 Turboprop. The plane adopted the identical 548-mile (882 kilometers) route taken by McGinness and Fysh and carried a duplicate of the unique mailbag, the primary airmail supply by Qantas. The mailbag will comprise 106 handwritten letters from Charleville faculty children to the youngsters of Longreach and Cloncurry.

Hudson Fysh flew the second leg

Photograph: Qantas

It was additionally about airmail

The commemorative flight can be in regards to the hyperlink between Qantas and Australia Publish and the airline’s function in connecting individuals, mail and cargo throughout the huge Australian panorama. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce stated this week’s flight celebrates the entrepreneurship and innovation of the airline’s founders a century in the past, which nonetheless exists in Qantas’ DNA right this moment. He added that the founding chairman Fergus McMaster stated the primary flight was a small starting that will turn into one of many best providers on this planet. Joyce stated:

“Qantas has gone from that single biplane flight 100 years in the past to the brink of a brand new period in aviation with our airbus A350 on order, positioning us to fly individuals and parcels direct from Australia to any metropolis on this planet.”

Photograph: Qantas

As regards to new plane and parcels, Qantas is changing certainly one of its 28 Airbus A330s passenger widebodies right into a freighter plane for Australia Publish cargo. It can have a freight capability of about 42 tonnes when transformed, round double what the present Qantas Airbus A321P2Fs (passenger to freighter conversions) carry for Australia Publish. The A330P2F is because of enter service in 2023, and Qantas has additionally dedicated to 6 extra A321P2F conversions.