Qantas to Expand Services with 767ER

What Qantas needed was a smaller aircraft than the 747 that had as close as possible to the seat-mile costs of the larger type. While, during the late seventies and early eighties, aircraft such as the A300 could have proved efficient on the trans-Tasman services, the type would not have been of much use elsewhere where Qantas traditionally flies the world’s longest sectors.

When, in 1978, Boeing announced details of their new 767, it did not take long for aerospace pundits to notice that such a relatively small aircraft (when compared to the A300) had such a very large wing. This wing, claims Boeing is the secret to the success of the 767 formula. The ultra-large wing allows Boeing to offer a fuel-efficient twinjet that can cruise at very high altitudes, altitudes that were formerly only available to the relatively overpowered SP. The large wing area also provides an excellent capability for additional fuel storage, something that led to the launch of the Extended Range (ER) version in September 1982.

Thus was born the aircraft Qantas had been looking for. Able to fly maximum payload sectors out to 5,000nm, the 767ER rapidly became the focus of Qantas engineering and marketing divisions’ plans, culminating in a historic order for 6 such aircraft (along with 3 747-300s) announced in August of 1983.

The 767ER is more than just another aircraft type in the Qantas inventory. From now on the airline will be able to exploit a myriad of marketing opportunities that were simply not open to it in the 747-only days. Frequency enhancement is more than just another aviation euphemism when it comes to generating traffic growth. It is indeed one of the oldest truisms in transport that if you increase frequency between two points then traffic will be stimulated accordingly. This works just as well in the long-haul international arena as it does for the commuter industry. With the 767ER, Qantas now will launch aggressively into marketing their additional frequencies which at the end of the day will almost certainly equate to increased overall load factors.

An example of this theory in action is the Tasman.

The air bridge between Australia and New Zealand is a lucrative one in terms of market potential, double your frequencies between city pairs and you begin to have an advantage over your rivals. Trans Tasman services will be boosted by almost a third by the time the final 767ER is delivered next March. Initial services (which commenced late July) will operate between Melbourne and Sydney to Wellington, nearly doubling the previous frequencies. By December, with the exception of flights between Sydney/Christchurch, Sydney/Auckland and Townsville/Auckland, all Qantas services across the Tasman will be operated by 767 aircraft. By next March, Qantas will be flying no less than 32 services a week across the Tasman.

Another interesting situation is in Queensland. Services between Brisbane and Auckland will increase from four to seven a week, boosting load factors and adding a new dimension in convenience for businessman and holidaymakers alike. Brisbane will also benefit greatly with additional services to Singapore (with a QF1 link up) in addition to a yet-to-be-verified Brisbane/Cairns/Tokyo route. Additionally, the Asian market can be exploited to the benefit of both Qantas and Queensland at a later date now that Qantas has more flexible aircraft with which to pioneer new services.

Other 767ER routes that have the potential of increasing tourism to Australia are based on Townsville/Cairns and Darwin, again feeding into Asia or taking US tourists direct via the Honolulu hub. There are a large number of potential applications including a greater number of more direct links with Adelaide and Perth. One such application sees a Perth/Tokyo non-stop (10½to 11 hrs flight duration) which hopefully will get underway by next Easter. This will greatly cut down the time taken to get from the two capital cities and should earn Qantas a major share of the traffic between the two ports.

From the passengers’ point of view how will the smaller 767 compare with the 747? Qantas will configure their twinjets in a 211-seat arrangement comprising 18 business and 193 economy seats. There is no first class and Qantas stand firm on their intention to keep this a two-class aircraft. Generally speaking, there is very little real demand for first class seats on the sectors primarily envisaged for the 767. Qantas business class has also been so well accepted by the business community that most traditional first class travellers would not mind going back to business class in view of the obvious benefits in terms of time savings involved with using a higher frequency or direct 767 service compared with the alternatives. Business class on the 767 is to the same overall standard as that found on the larger aircraft while economy passengers will benefit by having a higher ratio of washrooms to seats and the fact that 87% of economy seats aboard the 767 are either aisle or window seats, which has certainly got to be better than spending a long flight sandwiched in the middle of the four abreast centre unit aboard the 747!

Qantas has chosen the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4E engine of 50,000lb thrust to power their 767ER. Ansett and Air New Zealand (who have just received the first of three ER’s) chose the rival General Electric CF6-80A, fleetwise, the split between GE and P&W is about even. Qantas have long been conscientious Pratt buyers and chose this engine largely for its obvious commonality with the existing JT9Ds in the 747 fleet. An obvious choice for Qantas in the future will be the extended fuselage 767- 300ER, this will seat around 250 passengers in Qantas configuration while maintaining the 5,000nm range of the present shorter body ER. This aircraft will be available around April 1987 and should have seat mile costs fairly equivalent to that of the latest 747-300s. This aircraft will be powered by the new 56,000lb+ PW400 engine (or the rival CF6-80C2) which has 25% fewer parts than the JT9 in addition to around 15% better fuel efficiency than the latest marques of the earlier Pratt. Qantas can then retrofit the PW4000 aboard its -200ERs if it wishes while this also allows the Connecticut engine manufacturer a golden opportunity for getting aboard future 747-400s that Qantas will order in place of the Rolls Royce powerplant. This, of course, is merely speculation in terms of the 747 but will be worth watching when the time comes as the stakes involved in the engine ‘battle’ are very large indeed.

Qantas have opted for the lower gross weight of 345,000lb which will still enable them to fly a maximum payload sector of 5,000nm. The aircraft are set up entirely for a two-man crew (Ansett have the only three-man crewed 767s in the world) which fully utilises the incredible array of computers and flight management systems aboard the 767. Additional first and second officers will however be carried in accordance with standard Qantas long-range crew requirements. The new advanced systems help the crew maintain more exacting, safe and economical control of the aircraft with less effort in more comfortable surroundings.

The heart of the 767 is its advanced flight management systems and Rockwell Collins avionics. The digital flight management system, for instance, can coordinate each flight from just after takeoff through landing and rollout, allowing the crew to choose among fully automatic flight plans ranging from “least fuel” to “least time”. Flight data and other sensor information are presented in colour on television-like displays that are easy to maintain and update. The electrical systems and electronic displays are digital, which means fewer equipment problems and longer equipment life. Digital displays are generally around three times more reliable than analog units in addition to being lighter and more precise.

The centre CRTs, or EICAS (Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System) onboard the 767 (and 757) consolidate information on flight engine and subsystems performance, possible inflight system malfunctions or failures and on-the-ground maintenance requirements in the self-test mode. The primary role of the EICAS computers is to monitor the hundreds of signals sent from the engine and subsystem sensors during a flight. Information the computers gather that the crew requires inflight, either full-time or on command, is displayed on cathode ray tubes located on the flight deck. The information also appears in a multicolour format that can be read quickly and easily.

On the ground after the flight, the EICAS computer performs an equally vital role in providing maintenance crews with an automatic record of any system malfunctions during the flight. In addition, the crew can command EICAS to record data for trend analysis, including details pertaining to flight profile, temperature, and other conditions that affect the system’s performance.

Directly ahead of the pilots are the ADI and the HSI. The Rockwell Collins Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator integrates compass, track, weather and map references into a single display with all the elements presented in a common scale. In a multicolour format, it depicts the horizontal position of the aircraft in relation to the flight plan and a map showing navigation features of the surrounding region. This improves crew orientation and allows the pilot to make rapid and accurate flight path corrections. Wind speed and direction and vertical deviation from the flight path are also displayed.

Furthermore, each pilot may adjust the composition of his display by choosing from a variety of features. Colour weather radar returns may be selected and presented at the same scale and orientation as the map. The altitude and time of arrival for each flight plan waypoint can also be displayed. In addition to map mode, a pilot can select plan mode, VOR mode, ILS mode, or (optional) full compass rose mode. To simply describe these marvels of technology in mere words does not do them justice. You really have to be on the flight deck to appreciate just what a revolution has taken place in flight data presentation these past few years. Qantas 767 pilots we have spoken with cannot now even compare the 747 flight deck to that of the 767 in terms of added crew convenience, potentially enhanced safety and overall levels of personal efficiency in a more relaxed environment.

Above the EHSI is the ADI or Electronic Attitude Direction Indicator, which is sort of a Star Wars version of the good ol’ artificial horizon. The EADI displays information regarding the aircraft’s attitude, pitch and bank steering, speed deviation, instrument landing system course, and glideslope. Other data, such as autopilot and autothrottle modes, ground speed and radio altitude, are also displayed. Basically speaking, the combination of CRTs effectively nullifies the presence of every remaining analog gauge though naturally manual backup is carried in addition to a standby ADI.

The EADI, along with the EHSI presents complete aircraft attitude and position information to the pilots throughout all phases of the flight. The presentation format capitalises on the best features of traditional electromechanical instrumentation and incorporates new features that are possible only on a programmable cathode ray tube display.

All in all an excellent working environment for the aircrew of the eighties. Qantas have optioned their 767s well for the long routes planned for this aircraft. Each 767ER has a total of four electrical generators including a ram air turbine while the Qantas aircraft also feature enhanced levels of halon below deck firefighting systems and additional flow detectors on the aircraft’s avionics cooling systems.

Many airlines are now operating their 767ERs routinely on long over-water routes, most notably the trans-Atlantic. TWA, Air Canada, El Al and Ethiopian have all flown this route while the first two carriers now do this on a daily basis, using the 767ER to pioneer new routes so that later, traffic permitting, larger aircraft may take them over once they are developed.

This is indeed the secret of Boeing’s marketing and design philosophy on the 767. They have built an aircraft from the beginning that will have a very large and aerodynamic wing capable of supporting a considerable fuselage stretch in addition to being able to carry a vast amount of fuel for ultra-long-range operations. Boeing are already actively pursuing marketing of the as yet un-launched 767-200LR, which will have at least 1000nm more maximum payload range than the Qantas ER in addition to standard range -300s, 300ER and eventually a 300LR with up to 300 passengers and 6,000nm+ range. At the opposite end of this equation is the standard -200 so ably used by Ansett and sixteen other carriers for profitable route sectors as short as one hour’s duration. All in all Boeing certainly have their numbers covered.

Aviation, indeed the economy in general, seems to nowadays sprint from boom to bust in an all too regular cycle. Qantas and the world airline community are currently enjoying the sunny side of this cycle; a great time in which to introduce a new aircraft and a new route structure. More importantly though is when the inevitable economic autumn returns, the carrier will not have the immense problems that it suffered during the early eighties. For Qantas, the long-range two-hundred-passenger 767ER is truly the aircraft they had been waiting for.