iscoverTo mark the 30th anniversary of Qantas Boeing 747-400 VH-OJA becoming the first commercial aircraft to fly nonstop from London to Australia when it landed at Sydney Airport on August 17 1989, this story from the Australian Aviation archives comes from the January-February 2015 edition, when Tom Ballantyne wrote about being one of just 23 people on the history-making flight that broke a distance barrier previously thought unbreakable.
As the 1980s headed towards closure it was a turbulent time in Australian skies. The domestic aviation industry was in the midst of a bitter industrial dispute. Thousands of pilots were grounded as a pay dispute with their employers, private Ansett and government-owned Australian Airlines, dragged on.
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Phil
says:Seems like yesterday
CHARLES PULMAN
says:I was living in the UK at the time and remember it well, the special cold fuel and seeing the plane towed to the end of the runway, great stuff!
MERVYN CROWE
says:Flew on OJA Frankfurt-SIN way back in July 2009, and happily visited the aircraft again in April 2015 at Albion Park.
Theres nothing, simply nothing, like a 747 !
Jarryd
says:Forgot that Qantas used to service Frankfurt too
Malki
says:I remember the day it at KSA. I went to Harbourside, Darling Harbour that morning and bought a hat. I headed to the airport afterwards and watched Oscar Juliet Alpha touch down. It was August 17, 1989. A bright sunny day with cloud… I still have the hat I bought that morning 30 years ago…