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Qantas ordered six long-range Boeing 767jetliners for delivery beginning in October 1985. The carrier is the 18th customer for the 767 and the second airline to order the extended-range version of the popular twin-aisle jet. The fuel-efficient twin-jet 767 will complement the Qantas fleet of 24 Boeing 747 aircraft.
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The Ultimate Executive Jet?
The government and royal family of Saudi Arabia already operate a Boeing 747SP in executive configuration so the only remaining avenue for going one better was to order a private version of the new 747-300 Extended Upper Deck model. King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz took delivery of his personal jet late in 1984 after it completes a fitting out period in the US that alone will take a full twelve months. Delivered ‘green’ from Boeing, the Texas-based Dee Howard organisation will spend an additional $21 m on outfitting the giant Boeing to the king’s personal requirements. A worldwide telecommunications system will be installed in addition to a comprehensive medical test and life support facility while the aircraft, which will have three operational decks, will also have an elevator and be divided into recreation and work spaces as required. In the high-density mode, accommodations for up to 168 persons will be available. The project will require fifty Dee Howard personnel for a full year while the final aircraft cost (flyaway) will be $A125 m.
Qantas Order A boost For Boeing:
Qantas’ mammoth $860 m order for 9 new Boeings will certainly provide a boost to the Seattle aircraft manufacturer. It is only a matter of time before the major airlines begin back trading their early model 747s on the latest 747-300 Extended Upper Deck versions which overall offer per-seat fuel burn savings of around 15% on early model 747s. Qantas will take delivery of the first -300in November 1984 with the remaining two being delivered in January and April 1985. The aircraft will be configured with 40 Business Class or 69 Economy Class seats on the upper deck. Meanwhile, the 767-200ER decision ends years of marketing on the part of Airbus and more recently a rejuvenated McDonnell Douglas with their numerous MD-100 variants. Indeed the 767ER is an aircraft perfectly tailored to Qantas· unusually long route structure. Capable of flying max. passenger sectors out to 5,000 nm the new 767 will provide an excellent degree of operational flexibility not formerly available to Qantas as an all-747 operator. Qantas will now be free to expand frequency on some sectors and develop new routes as they emerge via the use of the 210-passenger aircraft. Of note is that Qantas will do away with First Class on the 767 to concentrate purely on Economy and Business Classes. The first two 767ERs will be delivered to Mascot in October 1985 with the remainder being delivered at monthly intervals from December, 1985 onwards. Qantas will sell six of its early model 747-200s when the second-hand market improves. on the other hand Chairman, Mr Jim Leslie stated recently that the aircraft will only be sold if the price is right and they are surplus to capacity…At a cost on around $A100m for a new 74711 would be short-sighted to sell our early models for around $20 m when these aircraft are really less than half way through their viable airframe life;’ stated Mr Leslie. Qantas are confident of a working profit in the current financial year and are planning on a traffic upturn in the region of 5% for this and the next 1wo years. Operating breakeven load factor has been reduced over the past year from nearly 70% to a very efficient 58%, which presently ranks Qantas as the third most efficient international carrier by ICAO rankings.
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