Qantas — An Illustrious 75 Year History

On November 16 1920, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited was registered in Brisbane, its headquarters at Winton in central Queensland. It was another two and a half months before Q.A.N.T.A.S. took delivery of its first aircraft, the Avro 504K, and on January 31 Paul McGinness departed Sydney for the company’s Winton headquarters in the new aircraft.

In tandem with Hudson Fysh and engineer Arthur Baird in a Bristol BE2E belonging to grazier Charles Knight, the two aircraft flew atop the scorched lands for Longreach. McMaster met the aircraft at Barcaldine, to fly with them on the final legs to Longreach and Winton.

On the eighth day, the two aircraft departed in the early morning for the final stretch over the featureless dustblown country toward Winton. The landscape below had been a navigational challenge for McGinness from his windblown cockpit, but the pair flew into sight of the spectators and media that had gathered there. Q.A.N.T.A.S. was home.

Growing Up

Moving the headquarters to Longreach and raising the inspiration of the Federal Government to provide subsidies to assist the company’s operations were immediate priorities for McGinness, Fysh and McMaster.

Almost as immediate was a lack of cashflow to maintain operations through the delay of aircraft deliveries and the crash of both the company’s Avros 504Ks in July 1921. With only a one passenger Bristol BE2E to carry on the duties, it was clear that more aircraft were needed if Q.A.N.T.A.S. was to successfully bid for contracts. In August 1921, Fergus McMaster published a revised prospectus to raise an additional £15,000 for the purchase of more aircraft and to raise the funds necessary to bid for a Charleville to Cloncurry service when offered for tender by the Government. By September some £13,000 of the shares had been taken up.

McMaster’s assertions to Prime Minister Billy Hughes ultimately paid off, when, on February 2 1922, Q.A.N.T.A.S. won the tender for subsidised regular air services between Charleville and Cloncurry against opposition from two competitive bidders.

Arrangements for the purchase of the aircraft commenced that same day. Fysh, in Melbourne, immediately purchased a DH.4 and subsequently made deposits on two Vickers Vulcans, though the latter never saw service with the company as the type fell well short of its promised operating performance. Replacement aircraft were sought and the airline’s first service was delayed by six weeks.

The Armstrong Whitworth FK-8, which had been acquired to replace the Vulcans, made Q.A.N.T.A.S.’s first commercial flight on November 2 1922, with Paul McGinness at the controls. On landing at Longreach, with its charge of letters and its first paying passenger, the company had proved that it could survive the early hurdles, steeled by the frustrations of aircraft delays and accidents, but it was the last occasion that Paul McGinness would play a role in the company he had helped give rise to.

On the eve of the first flight, Paul McGinness surprised the directors by tendering his resignation, having resolved to withdraw to the shadows as an observer of his accomplishments.

As 1923 drew to a close, despite further aircraft delays and accidents, the company had completed 204 of the 205 scheduled services on the Charleville to Cloncurry contract. With the first profit under its belt and the delivery of additional aircraft, the company attained the stability it needed to increase its network across the inhospitable interior.

The following year the company’s network widened to include Camooweal and Normanton from Cloncurry, and its activities diversified to include construction under licence of the popular DH.50 and the inauguration of two flying schools in Longreach and Brisbane. By 1927 Q.A.N.T.A.S. had increased its DH.50 fleet to six locally built machines which had contributed substantially to the £4019 profit for the year.

The calling of tenders by the Government in 1929 for contract services between Brisbane and Charleville forced Q.A.N.T.A.S. to consider larger aircraft. With the likelihood of competition from other established contract carriers in South Australia and Western Australia, the company’s decision to order two seven-seat DH.61s ultimately won it the contract, taking it north towards Darwin.

In April 1929, Q.A.N.T.A.S. inaugurated services between Brisbane and Charleville, for the first time linking its remote network in western Queensland with the state capital. Now in a better position to compete with the rise of Australian National Airways and to pursue the opportunities that lay in services linking other capital cities and major centres on the eastern seaboard, McMaster realised that in order for the company to mature, it had to relocate its base closer to the financial and political heart of the state. Thus, in June 1930 the Q.A.N.T.A.S. head office was opened in Brisbane.

Though the fortunes of Q.A.N.T.A.S. to this point were implacably linked to the land and the circumstances of the rural community, the company was moving towards a new environment that would be controlled by the whims of politics and Australia’s desire to establish for itself international links. Change was in the wind.

Reaching North

In March 1924 Imperial Airways was formed through the conglomeration of Handley Page Airlines, Instone, Daimler and British Marine Air Navigation under the guidance of Sir Eric Geddes. Within six years the airline’s network had extended to the east throughout the colonies of Asia as far as Singapore.

As Q.A.N.T.A.S.’s network had stretched out to the north, the two airlines were now within reach of one another, and the aspirations of the British and Australian governments to commence regular mail services between London and the Commonwealth became a measurable influence on the directors of Q.A.N.T.A.S.

An immediate necessity was to establish the airline on services to Port Darwin from where it could launch operations to Asia. In April 1931, the same month Q.A.N.T.A.S. moved its operations to Archerfield from Eagle Farm, proposals for a trial mail service between England and Australia were announced in which Imperial Airways would operate through Singapore to Darwin, connecting with a Q.A.N.T.A.S. service for Brisbane. Supported by the Commonwealth Government in its endeavours, McMaster suggested the formation of a subsidiary company that would become jointly responsible for the management of an England to Australia air service with a British counterpart.

In May 1933 Imperial commenced a survey flight from London to Melbourne via Singapore and Darwin with the Armstrong Whitworth XV Astraea. The aircraft made its debut at Brisbane amidst a throng of spectators and media. The presence of the 17 seat aircraft in Australia certainly fortified Imperial’s position in the eyes of the government and it captivated the imagination of the public. On board the Astraea’s return trip to London, Fysh sampled Imperial’s service on the way to furthering negotiations with the British airline. His visit was not in vain. On November 28 1933, an agreement between Imperial and Q.A.N.T.A.S. was reached, and on January 18 1934, Qantas Empire Airways was registered in Brisbane as a precursor to tendering for the Australia to Singapore Air Mail Service. The nominal capital for the joint venture was £200,000 in which both Imperial and Q.A.N.T.A.S. held 49%, the remaining 2% held by an umpire. All that remained was the decision of the Government.

Qantas Empire Airways

That one small Australian company, an airline still immature by world standards, had become part of an operation that could soon span half way round the world, was a reflection of the visionary attitude of its management. Its success had already been recognised by Imperial’s acceptance of the Qantas Empire Airways agreement.

Five 10 passenger DH.86s were ordered by the Australian partner for its services to Singapore from Brisbane and Darwin, and the company was well on its way to realising international services. The first DH.86 was scheduled for delivery in early September 1934 and would soon be flying the world’s longest overwater sector across the Timor Sea.

The inaugural QEA airmail service to England, though, was operated on December 10, 1934 using DH.61 Diana while airworthiness inspections of the DH.86 were made following two accidents. The flight departed Archerfield Aerodrome bound for Darwin, where a connecting Imperial Airways service continued to Singapore. The seven seat DH.61 biplane, which boasted the first toilet in an Australian aircraft, flew for a number of weeks together with DH.50 Hippomenes before handing over the operation to the DH.86 following Department of Civil Aviation approval.

The service became known as the Empire Route, a lifeline between the Commonwealth and mother England. That inextricable link was the compelling force that created an international carrier that became a specialist in long haul operations. It was also a corridor that generated tempest between the Government’s chosen instrument to promote Australia abroad and its partner-in-service, Imperial Airways.

The Empire Route

1935 was a significant year for QEA with the DH.86s finally entering service on January 29. Almost one month later “Scotty” Allan in DH.86 Canberra operated the company’s first international service to Singapore from Darwin, which had ostensibly become QEA’s hub for overseas operations.

At its time, the Empire Route was the longest in the world, at 20,521km (12,754mls). The 12 day journey from Brisbane to London certainly involved more adventure than did the six week sea voyages of the time. While passengers were accommodated enroute in the finest hotels, the journey was subjected to the vagaries of tropical weather and temperamental engines.

Such was the complexity of operations given the short range of the aircraft that three companies operated the service. Imperial Airways flew from London to Karachi with stops enroute in Paris, Brindisi and Cairo. Indian Trans Continental took over Imperial’s service in Karachi and continued the journey to Rangoon and Singapore, linking with QEA’s DH.86 service to Brisbane. The one way fare was $244. A considerable amount in those days.

However, QEA’s DH.86 aircraft, while comfortable and practical for their purpose, would soon be obsolete. Imperial Airways had stealthily planned to commence flying boat services even before its Australian partner had entered the de Havilland aircraft into service. As much as two years before the first airmail service departed Archerfield, Imperial had been devising plans for the route that had major implications for QEA’s structure, fleet and route system. That these plans had been hidden in secrecy for so long was less than warmly received by the QEA board.

There was no denying, however, that the Shorts Flying Boat would provide yet greater comfort for passengers and increase capacity for the vital mail services on which a large portion of the revenue depended. On June 18 1938 QEA moved to flying boat operations, taking delivery of the company’s first S23, VH-ABB Coolangatta, in Southampton where it departed for Australia.

The scarcity of landing fields with runways long enough to cater for the heavier and larger aircraft that were emerging was the reason for the emergence of the flying boats, and it was an era of aviation without parallel.

George Roberts, who joined Qantas in 1936, remembers the flying boats with affection.

“The Shorts ‘C’ class flying boats were immensely popular. Flying all day and living in the lap of luxury. A limousine to pick you up at the aircraft and take you to a fine hotel, a very comfortable night and a full breakfast before the limousine arrived to take you back to the aircraft for another day’s flying. The crew liked it too! The forward passenger cabin was used for the colossal amount of mail that we carried. The centre section was for passenger accommodation, followed by the promenade deck and then a rear cabin. It was very spacious. We carried only 16 passengers and it was a very spacious aircraft. The promenade deck with its wide windows offered people a wonderful view from the 4000 feet altitude which we flew at most of the time. The flying boat era was one we thoroughly enjoyed.”

With a range of about 800 kilometres, it was a leisurely 10 day trip to Southampton. Overnight ports of call enroute included Townsville, Darwin, Surabaya, Singapore and a stay at Raffles, then onto Bangkok, Calcutta, Karachi, Basra and the final night in style in Athens at Hotel Grande Bretagne. A total of 20,670 kilometres (12,847mls).

“So restful and tranquil”, describes Ernie Aldis, who entered aviation with Smith and Ulm, and who was Arthur Baird’s assistant. “It had a holiday spirit about it. Today, of course, it’s just teeming thousands going through terminals where you have to walk more than a kilometre. In those days it was very graceful, and it was the only way aviation was. It was also the best technology of the day, and the Shorts was a delightful aircraft”.

He also recalls the challenges of maintaining the flying boats at his base in Townsville.

The boats arrived late afternoon for a night stop and were scheduled to depart at 7am the next day. All rectification of defects, particularly engines, had to be carried out over water at night, swinging from a ‘bosun’s chair’ hanging from the propeller roots — at the risk of dropping critical tools, engine components or yourself into the water.

“It was not uncommon at these tropical stations to see sharks swimming below. The law of averages meant that many tools would slip through oily fingers and into the water. At 3am under torchlight, losing the only spanner In the immediate postwar years the Avro Lancastrian was used on the Empire Route to London, in conjunction with BOAC. The Qantas and BOAC flights linked up in Karachi. As converted WW2 bombers, the Lancastrians were renowned for their speed, but not for their comfort. The Lockheed Constellation established Qantas as a major international airline, with regular services to Europe and North America. L-749 Constellation VH-EAA is pictured here moments before touchdown with gear and flaps extended. Note the underbelly cargo pod. That fitted a job that needed to be completed for a 7am departure was exasperating!”

With the war on the horizon, the role of the flying boats after just four years would be dramatically changed, rescuing isolated Australian troops, evacuating refugees and transporting weapons, vital documents and mail.

“During the war the aircraft were double loaded with guns and other equipment. Of course they were very heavy. I recall captains looking from the aircraft moored at Rose Bay and casting an eye out to the harbour saying ‘Well, I’ve got from here to Manly to get off!'”

As the skies darkened over Europe, the company realised that its only hope of continuing services in the event of war would be to find an alternative route via the Indian Ocean. Thus on June 3, 1939, P G Taylor departed Rose Bay in S23 Guba for a survey flight over what would become the world’s longest nonstop sector across the Indian Ocean. The significance of this survey flight was proved when, on September 3 1939, Australia, and with it, Qantas Empire Airways, was at war.

Qea at War

QEA was to lose much of what it had accomplished over its brief 19 year history, yet ironically, it also experienced widespread expansion of its network through pioneering routes and increasing its westward move towards Britain, taking over the services operated by Imperial who faced its own problems some 20,000 kilometres away.

By the time QEA had formed another alliance with Imperial Airways, which by now had become BOAC, and with Union Airways, this time to form Tasman Empire Airways Limited, BOAC crew shortages provided QEA the opportunity to increase its operations westward through Asia from Singapore to Karachi.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and advances toward Australia through Singapore and Papua New Guinea caused the company’s first loss of an aircraft at war, with the flying boat Corio shot down by Japanese aircraft with the loss of 13 passengers and crew.

QEA’s ties with the Empire route were severed with the fall of Singapore. February 1942 marked the beginning of curtailments in the company’s activities, and within days of the first air raid on Darwin the directors were faced with the inevitable effects of the war. Within one month, QEA itself had lost three flying boats, and another two were lost while on charter to the RAAF.

On February 28 1942, BOAC and QEA formally suspended operations on the Empire Route. Flying boat services were operated between Sydney and Darwin for priority passengers and freight and to islands in the Timor Sea and further north until the loss of one of three remaining flying boats brought QEA to the very brink of ceasing operations altogether.

Hudson Fysh lobbied the British and Australian governments hard for approval to commence services via Ceylon and the Middle East using converted Liberator bombers and Catalinas. Some respite for QEA’s international operations came on June 29 when the first flight to Ceylon departed Perth’s Swan River for the 28 hour, 5652km journey, operated by a Catalina purchased under a lend lease arrangement from the United States and converted for passenger use by BOAC.

The remarkable Catalina journeys were fraught with danger over oceans which were routinely patrolled by Japanese aircraft and ships. The entire distance was flown using celestial navigation under complete radio silence.

With the war now in its fourth year and a number of decisive battles having thwarted the Japanese advance, a committee established by the Australian Government to assess QEA’s postwar future had concluded that the continuing 15 year partnership agreement signed with BOAC could restrict the company’s opportunities. Suggestions to purchase BOAC’s half of the operation were mooted. The wider relationship with Britain also stood to be tested by the committee’s finding that there was unlikely to be any British designed airliners that would meet QEA’s future requirements. The airline’s operations had benefited greatly from the American machines that were plying the oceans to the west and to the rainforest highlands of New Guinea.

At the time of the Allied invasion at Normandy in June 1944, the first of two converted Liberator bombers arrived in Perth to recommence services to London via the Indian Ocean route, on what would become known as the Kangaroo Service. The introduction of the 15 passenger aircraft, converted by QEA at Archerfield, was the first real sign of improvement for the company’s tenuous financial position, and pre-empted links with the Empire Route that had been dissolved two years before.

At the time the International Air Transport Association was established, QEA also recommenced services on the Empire Route using Avro Lancastrians to Karachi where they connected with BOAC. With the re-establishment of the Empire Route came the redundancy of the Indian Ocean Catalina service which had been pioneered in June 1939.

An Era of Profound Change

The environment in which QEA was now operating was成unquestionably different. Ties forged across the Pacific with the United States, Canada and New Zealand during the war brought unprecedented interest by the airlines to commence operations between their respective countries.

The spread of QEA’s wings over the Pacific came closer to reality when Australia’s first postwar air transport agreement was signed with Canada in June 1946. Six months later an agreement was reached with the United States.

QEA had on hire from BOAC five six-berth Lancastrians and six Hythe flying boats for its Empire Route operations. Its own fleet had been decimated by the war and contained no aircraft suitable for long overwater sectors such as those on the Pacific. The need for a selection of aircraft to operate over the Pacific was inescapable.

Despite the British Government espousing the Avro Tudor, and a choice of American designs including the DC-6, QEA ultimately decided in favour of Lockheed’s pressurised L-749 Constellation. The order for four of the American aircraft in favour of British machines was perhaps the first signal that the Empire’s grip on the Commonwealth was loosening.

In 1947 QEA entered what could arguably be described as the most significant period since its foundation 27 years before. A financial undertaking on the scale of the Lockheed order forced a number of issues for QEA and its holding company Q.A.N.T.A.S. On March 24 the financing of the $5.5 million order was given potent support when it was announced that BOAC had sold its shares to the Australian Government.

One month later, Prime Minister Chifley publicly announced his support for the Government’s purchase of the Q.A.N.T.A.S. shares, and on June 30 1947 the Government’s purchase of QEA was complete. At this culmination of profound change, Fergus McMaster retired, ending a 25 year relationship with the company.

October witnessed the arrival of the aircraft that would establish QEA as one of the world’s leading long haul carriers. The Constellation’s record breaking flight from Burbank to Sydney in just 48 hours was indicative of the company’s bright future.

On December 1, the first Constellation service on the Kangaroo Route to London was inaugurated. Before the war, QEA had earned for itself a reputation for quality service and this was reflected in the high level of comfort afforded to the 20 passengers aboard each of the weekly Constellation services. Within one month of commencing the services, Constellations were operating three return services a week. This is an interesting comparison with todays services which supply almost 6000 Qantas seats a week from Australia to the UK.

As 1948 forged ahead, so too did QEA’s fortunes under the new government ownership. Two more L-749 Constellations were ordered to keep pace with demand on the Kangaroo Route while the government owned Trans Australia Airlines had been established as a domestic carrier, leaving QEA to international routes.

While the airline now had the long range equipment of its choice, the environment was becoming increasingly competitive and it was clear that the company still had much to do in planning for a secure future.

Comet V Boeing

In January 1949 the QEA board wrote to the Government seeking a further eight Constellations to counter increasing competition from KLM on its services to London. The additional aircraft were to be used to provide three and a half services a week using three dedicated aircraft to London, and the other five aircraft to operate new services to Hong Kong, Japan and a weekly service to Johannesburg.

At this time QEA was increasingly aware of the benefits jet travel would bring to its long haul operations. BOAC had already ordered the Comet which it planned to use on services to Australia, and pressure applied by the British Government and BOAC for Australia to buy the Comet was immense. QEA held the firm belief that the aircraft would be uneconomic to operate on the Kangaroo Route.

Meanwhile, as QEA increased its services on the Australia to UK route to five per week using a combined fleet of ten Constellations with BOAC, the company proposed expansion plans for its network to the east and west. On August 8, 1950, as QEA completed its first survey flight to Tahiti via Noumea, Suva and Tonga, Fergus McMaster died.

Striking a blow against the Comet and the turboprop Bristol Britannia, the Government approved a QEA recommendation to purchase three L-1049 Super Constellations in December 1951. Within two months of the L-1049 order, and at the dawning of jet air services, Paul McGinness died in virtual obscurity and in ill health in Western Australia where he had spent most of his life after leaving Q.A.N.T.A.S. in 1922. Hudson Fysh would be the sole survivor to carry on that early dream in a very different world.

McGinness’s death marked the commencement of a tumultuous year for QEA and the aviation industry which was on the verge of its most significant evolution.

During a visit to England, soon after the first of a series of Comet crashes, Fysh confirmed a QEA committee’s report that the Comet 2 had not met performance expectations in its range and speed due to higher than expected weight and higher fuel consumption. Even with the Comet 3 promising better performance, which Fysh acknowledged more closely matched QEA’s route requirements, he remained an admirer of American aircraft.

The airline’s international operations were proving unquestionably successful. Demand for its Kangaroo Route services outstripped its capacity at the time, leading QEA to seek approval for the purchase of a further six L-1049s, trading in an equivalent number of L-749As.

Amid growing pressure on productivity, QEA’s retrenchment of 60 staff at Mascot initiated a long running feud between what Fysh called “a communist element” and the QEA board. Overtime bans and industrial difficulties would from this point forward remain at the heels of the board.

1953 opened with Britain once again forcing its case for the Comet, and an announcement that BOAC would commence Comet operations to Australia from mid 1954. The removal of BOAC’s Constellations from the route would create an incompatibility between the two carriers that effectively forced QEA to make a decision on its selection of a jet airliner. It seemed that the British had won.

Gaining Momentum

On May 2 1953 another Comet crashed, this time near Calcutta, killing all on board, and then another on 10th January 1954 over the Mediterranean. Comet fever was waning as the aircraft’s certificate of airworthiness was withdrawn pending investigations.

BOAC resumed services with the aircraft in March following structural modifications, though it was a short lived effort. The fourth crash of a Comet, disintegrating in midair over Italy, spelled the end of confidence in the design, and all were again grounded. The order for QEA’s two Comet 2s was cancelled.

On April 15 1954, QEA received the first of its L-1049s. Southern Constellation departed one month later on QEA’s first trans Pacific service to San Francisco, made possible by the company’s purchase of the British and New Zealand interests in British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines during the preceding month. On the same day, Boeing’s Dash 80, later to become known as the 707, was revealed to the world.

While it would be some years before QEA would benefit from jets, the airline was consolidating its position as a pioneer of long haul services. The Super Constellations offered QEA the opportunity to expand its operations, giving Australia an unprecedented worldwide presence. The move into new markets, most notably into North America, necessitated the review of the company’s name to reflect Australia’s independence and to allay confusion created by the title’s inclusion of the word “Empire”. Thus, in June 1955, Qantas became the name flown to destinations around the world.

As the company changed its marketing image to fall in line with the new Qantas, it still had to address the issue of jet aircraft to effectively compete with carriers such as BOAC, Pan American and what would rapidly become a growing number of European carriers. The Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 were considered too large for Qantas’s requirements, and the Comet IV, though less economic, more closely addressed the route requirements of the airline.

As the first jet airliner visited Australia in December 1955, Qantas itself was chronically short of capital to purchase its own jet fleet. Clearly BOAC’s Comet captured the imagination of the Australian public just as Imperial’s Astraea had in 1933; it seemed Qantas was without a place in the emerging long distance airline industry.

The prime requirement for Qantas jet operations was its ability to operate long overwater sectors from short field lengths on the Pacific islands, and was ideally a combination of the domestic variants of the DC-8 and 707 modified with uprated engines. Douglas’s refusal to alter its design left two contenders for the bidding, and the development time and unproven reliability of the Comet started a solid relationship with the Seattle builder. An order for seven Boeing 707-138s was placed on September 6 1956 for delivery from May 1959.

The Boeing 707-138 combined the series 100 domestic model, with a further 3m (10ft) section removed from the fuselage, with the military JT3C-6 powerplant manufactured by Pratt & Whitney. The 885km/h (550mph) aircraft would shave the flying time on the Pacific route from 28 hours to 16, and on the Kangaroo Route from 48 hours to just 27.

In the years preceding delivery of the new aircraft, Qantas rationalised its international services on the L-1049 and prepared its Mascot base for the servicing of the jets.

A Special Flight

Over the years Qantas has made many special flights: Royal Flights, inaugural flights, proving flights. All have been special, but perhaps none so special as the Qantas Round the World Goodwill Flight.

On December 20 1957, Super Constellation VH-EBO Southern Aurora departed Sydney for Auckland on the first sector of an eastbound Round the World Flight under the command of Captain Ralph Bruce. Captain Bruce recalls the flight…

“The departure was farewelled by Australian Minister for External Affairs, Mr R G Casey, and Qantas Chairman Sir Hudson Fysh together with Chief Executive C O Turner. Mr Casey presented a scroll to me for endorsement by dignitaries. Nineteen days later and still on schedule, we circled Qantas House before coming in to land. The flight was the forerunner of our Round the World Services and we received considerable publicity by carrying leading journalists including radio and TV commentators from various parts of the world. The tour embraced some 13 countries during which Heads of State and internationally prominent figures were interviewed. Our route took us to Auckland thence to Fiji and then the balmy relaxation of Honolulu, then on to Burbank, home of the Lockheed Aircraft Company. From there we flew to New York and the freeze of winter at Christmas time, then to Washington DC and the Pentagon, where we were received by the US Under Secretary of State. Then came the wintry cities of London, Frankfurt and Bonn, but Rome had brilliant sunshine for our arrival before we flew into Asia where we visited Pakistan, India and Thailand. Bustling Singapore was the final city in Asia before heading on to Australia to a warm reception. On this wonderful journey we met many people, including Prime Ministers and Presidents, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Pius XII who presented his personal medallions to our group at the Vatican, city Mayors, and movie stars like Gina Lollobrigida. I returned the scroll which had been given to us on departure and which had been signed by the dignitaries we met enroute.”

Southern Aurora performed superbly throughout the flight and received only routine maintenance throughout. All the passengers and crew associated with this flight carry very happy memories of the inaugural Round the World Flight. On January 14, 1958, the company inaugurated scheduled round the world operations using the ‘Super Connies’, Southern Aurora flying east and Southern Zephyr flying westbound.

Boeing Debut

The first Boeing 707, City of Canberra, arrived at Sydney on July 2 1959 to herald Australia’s arrival of the jet age. Almost immediately the aircraft was introduced on the trans Pacific service and onwards through New York to London. Between 1955 and 1960 Qantas recorded an average 65% growth, largely attributable to the expanded Super Constellation services and the introduction of the 707.

It was largely the reliability of the new engines that gave Qantas a hitherto unknown reliability of on time departures that simply was not available with the piston engines.

Ernie Aldis recalls, “The technology of engines was the biggest setback. Over the years the piston engines got bigger and the horsepower increased, making them more complex. The frictionless gas turbine engine was the major breakthrough. When we received the 707, we all breathed a sigh of relief.”

Qantas had purchased 16 spare JT3C engines for its new fleet, based on the failure rate of the earlier piston engines.

“Where we were once changing a wrecked engine every five or six months, we were now changing them every six years. That shows the difference between the gas turbine engine and piston engine technology”.

Eventually the company sold its spare engines, having waited for engine breakdowns that did not occur. In August 1961 the first of the airline’s new fanjet 707-138Bs arrived. In November, Qantas introduced its V-jet livery to the 707 fleet; vannus, the Latin word for fan, was used to signify this latest improvement to the fleet, and the remaining turbojet -138A models were retrofitted with the new engines, providing increased thrust, lower fuel consumption and greater payloads over its uniquely long sectors.

The Lockheed Electras, which had entered service with Qantas in November 1959 and operated on services to Hong Kong and Tokyo, were soon replaced by the jets. In May 1963 the last of the Super Constellations, Southern Constellation, was sold. As airports were improved to cater for the larger aircraft, regional jet services were commenced to Noumea and later to Auckland and Christchurch. In November 1964 the Fiesta route was inaugurated to London via Fiji, Tahiti, Acapulco, Mexico City, Nassau and Bermuda.

As demand was increasing across the entire network, the airline was also facing unprecedented competition from European carriers on the Kangaroo Route. The higher capacity offered by the larger 707-338C led to an order for six of the aircraft for delivery in February 1965. A decision to standardise the jet fleet on the -338 model saw plans for the disposal of the -138s commencing in May 1967, and by September 1969 all the short fuselage aircraft had been sold.

Hudson Fysh retired in June 1966, having realised the bold idea and nurtured it through the peaks and troughs. An airline without aircraft, an airline at war, an airline responsible for changing the face of international air travel. His foresight and direction from that original dream he shared with Paul McGinness set many quiet but profound records. Succeeded by Sir Roland Wilson as Chairman, Sir Hudson Fysh would stand aside to witness the next momentous change for ‘his’ airline.

Flying Behemoths

On August 1 1967 the company changed its name to Qantas Airways Limited; it had truly become Australia’s Overseas Airline.

As the world’s air traffic patterns adjusted to greater frequency and higher capacity travel, Qantas had to consider the next phase of its development. The airline had in its fleet at the time of Fysh’s departure 13 707-138Bs and six -338Cs, three Electras, two DC-4s and two DC-3s. A further ten 707-338Cs were on order.

Boeing by this time had invested its entire future on another aircraft that would revolutionise the industry, as had the 707 in 1954. The Boeing 747 was a quantum leap in capacity, from the 140 seat 707s which had come to dominate the industry, to the 360 seats of this new monster. As Ron Yates describes, “The general air of anticipation was one of enthusiasm, though from a marketing point of view, ‘How are we going to fill the planes?'”

Ron Yates, who joined in 1946 as the company’s first professional aeronautical engineer and later became Chief Operating Officer, played an instrumental role in the order for the 747 and its later developments. Qantas has been a faithful Boeing customer ever since its first placed an order for the 707. When you get close to a company you build up confidence. In this light, the decision to go from the 707 to the 747 wasn’t quite as difficult as going from the piston Constellations to the 707.

“We had a great deal of difficulty at the time with some of our senior people in the company about which 747 we should buy recalls Ron. There was a very strong feeling that we should buy the basic 747, but I crusaded for the longer range series -200. Through a lot of management anguish, we finally decided that was the way to go, and of course, history shows this was the right decision. As a company, Qantas has been very much involved with Boeing in developing the 747 into what it is today because of its very close relationship with the Boeing Company. When the first 747s were delivered, they had only three windows on the upper deck. Qantas had the Captain’s Club Lounge up there, and my enthusiasm to put ten windows upstairs led Qantas to be the first carrier to do that, and we ultimately pushed Boeing to extend the upper deck of the 747 into the series -300 it has today. The introduction of the 747Bs from August 1971 went fairly smoothly. There were some mechanical difficulties but the level of reliability we have today with the 747 is much better than it was in the early days, but even when the newer 747-400 came into service, the reliability wasn’t so good because there were initially a lot of annoying software glitches.”

Ron Yates developed joint member teams from both Boeing and Qantas to rectify the reliability problems of the 747s, further consolidating the working relationship between the two companies and firmly laying the foundations for further Boeing orders.

As the 747Bs were delivered, disposal of the Qantas 707 fleet got underway. The first -338C was sold in November 1972, the remaining 20 707s providing sterling service until the last flight of the type on March 25 1979. Leaving Qantas with the world’s only all 747 fleet, the company created another world first by introducing Business Class.

In 1985 Qantas introduced the 767-238ER twinjet to regional sectors including New Zealand and a rapidly growing market in south east Asia. Two years later, Boeing developed the specialised long haul version of the twinjet, the series -300ER, enabling Qantas to operate to more distant destinations in Asia and higher volume sectors on the trans Tasman network.

Improvements in fuel consumption based on aerodynamic enhancements and developments in engine technology led the airline to seek the latest version of the 747 in 1987 when it ordered the Longreach -400.

Back to Beginnings

In the Government’s One Nation statement of 1992, the airways of Australia were destined for as profound a change as that of 45 years before. In 1947, the Australian Government had purchased the entire shareholding of Qantas, and over the period of rapid expansion in the postwar years, the airline certainly benefited from ownership ‘by the people’.

In September 1992 the Government took Qantas back to where it had started, allowing it to bid $400 million for Australian Airlines and its subsidiary regional operations, thus returning it to the domestic market. The purchase was completed in September 1992, and the familiar blue kangaroo of Australian was gradually replaced by the ubiquitous livery of that other flying kangaroo. With the purchase came five regional carriers and the addition of a fleet of 73 aircraft varying in size from the Airbus A300 to the Cessna Titan. This step formed an essential component in the Government’s wider agenda to privatise the carrier, giving it a broader operational scope and making it more attractive to investors.

In December 1992 British Airways purchased a 25% shareholding in Qantas, marking the first step in eventual full privatisation. The commercial alliance between the carriers dramatically increased Qantas’s global market, and also provided British Airways with valuable access to destinations in the rapidly growing Asia Pacific region. Public emotions ran strong with cries of the Australian airline being taken over by an overseas operator making headlines around the country. The $665 million offered by British Airways, and a $1.35 billion capital injection by the government in February 1993 to stabilise Qantas’s financial position, laid the foundations on which the airline was to be fully privatised in 1995.

Qantas relaunched its product in August 1994 and an aggressive marketing campaign and capacity injection preceding the public share offering regained the airline’s position as leader on trunk domestic routes, toppling Ansett from a position it had enjoyed as leader for a number of years.

On July 31 1995, Qantas shares began being traded on the Australian Stock Exchange, having raised $1.45 billion for the Government in the process of the sale. Despite a 49% ceiling of foreign ownership, up to 53% fell into the hands of overseas investors, momentarily creating nervousness about the ability to maintain the airline’s position as the designated Australian flag carrier. In the months following the float, the 22 million shares in excess of the foreign ownership limit were within a manageable level, with 55% of the shares owned by Australians, including Qantas staff, and 20% owned by foreign investors. British Airways maintained its original 25% holding.

Qantas is moving now into a period of consolidation following the successful float and recapturing the lead in the domestic market. The recent order of two 767-300s and one 737-400 will bring the airline to a total fleet of around 135 aircraft. With a further offering of shares within 18 months, there is the possibility of new aircraft being purchased to chart a careful expansion into emerging markets.

Doug Gillies, Group Executive General Manager Aircraft Operations, sees two significant advances for Qantas in the immediate future.

“Qantas was recently contracted by Boeing to flight test and certify the new Future Air Navigation System (FANS). A world first, Qantas is again at the forefront of long distance operations. Qantas is the first airline to fly with this new technology, and this month we expect to have all our Pacific fleet configured for CNSATM (FANS). We will be the first people flying FANS across the Pacific. With Qantas well positioned at this early stage, I believe we will get the most benefit from the new technology. We see very significant benefits from FANS. By having this technology we will be able to shorten flight times, saving fuel, maintenance and payroll costs. There will also be reductions in holding times, as well as potential safety benefits.”

The other significant advancement is in inflight entertainment, where Doug Gillies sees interactive video systems as revolutionising passenger response to long distance air travel. Qantas will trial, together with partner British Airways, new entertainment and communications systems later this year.

Gillies does not foresee any major changes in the Qantas fleet in the immediate future, albeit with some minor rationalisation of the domestic fleet and an incremental enhancement of capacity.

“There will be no massive orders from Qantas we have no need to do that. The main interests at the moment are building a healthy balance sheet, getting debt under control and making sure that we are very economic. We are determined not to repeat history with the airline industry’s traditional mentality of ordering in the good times and taking delivery in the bad times: we don’t see ourselves repeating these mistakes. We are going down a fairly traditional Qantas path. We need to be at the forefront of aviation developments and we will only do things that make economic sense. Qantas has a good track record in that sense, and we are happy to continue that way. We will make sure our aircraft are as safe, economic and reliable as possible — it’s steady as she goes.”

Although some of these Qantas qualities have been retained, the airline that exists today is vastly different to that of even 20 years ago. Operations are now clearly centred on Asia, and the routes that once blazed a trail for Qantas in Europe and North America have been relegated to history. In the constant evolution of the industry it is possible that Qantas may eventually find its way back to San Francisco, Central America and ports in Europe.

As Ron Yates, former Chief Operating Officer, says from an objective point of view following his retirement from the company in 1987, “I think the big issues of today are how far can Qantas go as Australia’s flag carrier, because in fact it is no longer Australia’s flag carrier. The determination of the airline in days when it was the flag carrier was to promote Australia and aviation. Now, of course, being privatised, the primary objective is to look after the shareholders, and that may well mean that some of the routes that were once operated as the ambitions of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government may no longer be operated. We must expect that.”

To the question of aircraft, while Gillies and Yates share the concern over the “historic anomaly” of the Airbus A300 in the Qantas fleet, Ron Yates sees that there will be a role for the 777 and possibly the new generation Airbus aircraft in the future Qantas fleet.

“I see a great opportunity for the 777 in the future. I think it has enormous potential and will be a good 767-300 replacement. I would not discount, either, the A340 or the A330. I would hope that someone has a close look at these aircraft.”

Yates cites the lower density routes of Cathay Pacific such as the nonstop Hong Kong to Paris sector on which they use the A340 to maximum effect. “It gives you added flexibility. You shouldn’t discount an aircraft like that too readily.”

In the year to June 1995, Qantas carried over 16 million passengers to 34 destinations in 24 countries, including 23 ports in the Asia/Pacific region, and a further 52 destinations throughout Australia. The airline also continues its world leading position in flight safety and in its engineering and maintenance standards, which were born out of the skill and commitment of Arthur Baird when he joined Q.A.N.T.A.S. in 1920 as the company’s first engineer.

Ernie Aldis, who was Baird’s assistant, says, “I think Qantas should celebrate its enormous growth from the early days to where they are today, and to have stayed with it. In the United States there were many airlines that started up soon after Qantas and they’re not there anymore: Pan Am, Eastern… We have had 75 years of uninterrupted services, even during the war. It’s a great achievement, and one of technical integrity. Aviation is based on engineering and the success of Qantas over the last 75 years should be looked back upon as success in technical integrity”.

The fleet, with an average aircraft age of the core jet fleet of just 6.3 years, is maintained at Sydney’s Arthur Baird Jet Base, which is one of the most comprehensive facilities in the Asia/Pacific region.

The success of Qantas, says Ron Yates, is twofold. First, its success has been brought about by the philosophy of safety and reliability that was germinated in the company in the very early days, and the strong apprenticeship programme where we have instilled ‘near enough isn’t good enough’. Safety and reliability have always been paramount at Qantas. The other major factor is choosing the right aircraft. Qantas has been fortunate in not having made major mistakes in the selection of any of its new aircraft — the right size and the right engines.

Qantas continues to shape the airliners of the future. For the moment reliant exclusively on Boeing equipment for its international and the bulk of its trunk domestic operations, Qantas is helping to design airliners to meet the projected demands in air travel with larger and more fuel efficient machines that will close up the world even more tightly than has been achieved in the eventful 75 years just past.

It is the achievements of the last 75 years that must be preserved and remembered as a vital part of Australia’s, and the world’s, aviation history. A Qantas Memorial Foundation has been established to collect and preserve the aviation heritage of the English speaking world’s oldest airline. There are now only two remaining 707-138s in active service, and these together with the Super Constellation, Electra and other aircraft that played an essential role in the development of Qantas should retain their rightful place in a permanent reminder of the airline’s achievements. Just as we revere the halcyon days of the ’20s and ’30s, the next generation will appreciate the preservation of representative aircraft from the entire fascinating history of Qantas.

Keith Smith and his companions blazed that original trail for what is now a well-marked road, safely and comfortably plied by the airliners of today.