In Australian Service Boeing 767 Pt.II

Qantas’ first Boeing 767-238ER VH-EAJ was rolled out on 14 May 1985 and had its first flight on 13 June. After testing and acceptance it arrived in Sydney at the end of the delivery flight on 5 July. Not long after, on 13 July, the second 767 VH-EAK arrived in Sydney. The first Qantas 767 service was made by VH-EAK on 30 July 1985 when it operated QF37 from Melbourne to Wellington. By the end of 1985, Qantas had received four of its 767-238ERs; two were delivered in 1986 with the final aircraft arriving in 1987, after the initial order for six aircraft was added to by the order for an additional 767-238ER The arrival of the Boeing 767-238ERs and their gradual integration into the Qantas network has had major ramifications for Qantas. They have provided greater frequency on some routes previously operated by the Boeing 747s and in addition have opened up many new routes. Their first use was on trans-Tasman services and they still play a vital role on routes between many Australian and New Zealand cities. The great success enjoyed by the 767-238ERs led Qantas to order additional 767s, these being 767-338ERs.

It was the order for the larger 767-338ERs which marked a major break with tradition as regards Qantas’ relationships with their previous powerplant suppliers. For many years Qantas had been a major client of Pratt and Whitney although their 747s delivered since 1979have been Rolls-Royce powered. When the 767-238ERs were ordered with Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7R4Ds, it marked a return to the previous supplier. So, when the decision was made to select the General Electric CF6-80C2B6 it marked a major change in direction for Qantas.

When Australian Aviation visited General Electric in Evendale, Cincinnati prior to the delivery of Qantas’ first 767-338ER, GE executives expressed their delight and pride with their new relationship with Qantas. They had tried very hard for several years to win a contract with Qantas and there is no doubt that they are extremely keen to make further engines sales to Qantas on both the 767 and 747.

The first of Qantas’ 767-338ERs was VH-OGA which first flew on 26 August 1988. As it was the first aircraft of its type for Qantas, it had flown more hours than was usual prior to the delivery flight from Paine Field, Everett. Additional hours had been flown for performance testing of the General Electric powerplants which accounted for VH-OGA having flown 22 hours prior to the start of the delivery flight, while 8-10 hours is more the norm. Australian Aviation was on board VH-OGAon the first stage of her delivery flight from Paine field to Los Angeles on 30 August 1988. After VH-OGA was refuelled, it left for Honolulu for an overnight stop before setting out on the Honolulu/Sydney leg for an arrival in Sydney on 1 September. Qantas’ satisfaction with the Boeing 767-338ER/General Electric CF6-80C2-B6 combination has seen further orders, which will take the fleet total of the type to 12, plus an option is held on another aircraft.

While Australian Aviation was at Boeing, one of the many interesting facts to emerge was the size relationship between the 767 and 747. Boeing explains this by saying that the 767 is half the size, carries half the passengers and half the fuel of the 747. It is this size of aircraft that has proved to be such a winner in Qantas operations and gives just the flexibility which is required on such a diverse network. The 767-238ERs are currently fitted with 24 business class and 182 economy seats while the 767-338ERs have 6 first class, 16 business class and 212 economy seats. Both seating arrangements are extremely comfortable and well below the maximum seating capacity of either type.

The Qantas 767-238ERs have a 345,000lb (156,630kg) MTOW, a 20,287 USgal (76,8441) fuel capacity with a 5,000nm (9,265km) range while their 767-338ERs are certified to a 380,000lb (172,520kg) MTOW with a potential 407,000lb (104,778kg) MTOW and have a 24,130 USgal (91,400 I) fuel capacity. When the 767-338ER is certified to the 407,00Olb MTOW, some of the possible non stop destinations from Sydney would be Tokyo and Honolulu with a volume limited payload and Beijing, Bombay and Mauritius with a full passenger payload within the scope of the 6,000nm (11, 118km) range. Typical of the routes served by the Qantas 767s are Sydney/ Brisbane/Singapore and Sydney/Adelaide/Singapore, both operated by 767-338ERs on Mondays, which link up with a westbound 747-438. This is a feature of numerous other 767 flights during the week such as Perth/Singapore (-238ER), Perth/Singapore/Bangkok (-238ER), Townsville/Darwin/Singapore/Bangkok (-238ER), Cairns/Darwin/Singapore/Bangkok (-238ER), Townsville/Cairns/Singapore/Bangkok (-238ER), Sydney/Adelaide/Perth/Singapore (-238ER), and Melbourne/Singapore (-338ER) which mesh with 747 flights to London. Indeed the 767 is the deal feeder for Qantas’ vital Singapore hub. In addition to these flights, some other 767 services are Brisbane/Narita (-238ER), Melbourne/Sydney/Manila (-238ER) Sydney/Brisbane/Manila (-238ER), Sydney/Adelaide/Singapore/ Bombay (-238ER) and Sydney/Nagoya (-338ER). Two long haul routes are Perth/Narita (-238ER) with a scheduled 10hr 10min flight time and 10hr 25min for the return flight to Perth, which is the longest non stop sector currently operated by Qantas 767s, and Sydney/Phuket (-338ER) with 9hr 20111in flight time.

These services are representative of the wider Qantas 767 network which is providing direct air travel to an increasing number of Australian cities. In addition, many new routes have been opened up, while other services previously operated by 747s have been transferred to the 767s because of their greater suitability for journeys not requiring the 7 4Ts greater capacity. As at the end of May 1990, the highest time Qantas 767 was VH-EAJ with 17,100 hours and the 767-238ER fleet had aggregated 108,800 hours. Of the 767-338ERs, the highest time aircraft was VH-OGA at 6,400 hours while the -338ER fleet had accumulated a total of 26,700 hours.

The impact of the whole 767 fleet on Qantas’ operating flexibility and financial health has been substantial. From an all 747 airline, Qantas now has the blend of equipment to serve current routes and is well placed to take new initiatives as the fleet grows. By the end of 1991, with seven 767-238ERs and 12 767-338ERs in service, there will no doubt be a further expansion of the Qantas 767 network.

The Boeing 767 has made a major contribution to Australian civil aviation. That the aircraft can profitably operate on routes ranging from Ansett’s domestic sectors to the very long international long haul routes Qantas has placed them on, illustrates the extreme versatility of the whole 767 family. Boeing will no doubt be keen to capitalise on the 767’s success in our region with the 767-X when it becomes available later this decade.