Tag Archives: Yam Dreaming

QANTAS orders six more 787-9 Dreamliners, announces the retirement of the last 747-400

QANTAS Airways on May 2 announced an order for six additional Boeing 787-9s to fly on its international network, bringing its fleet of Dreamliners to 14 by the end of 2020.

The arrival of the new aircraft will enable the airline to accelerate retirement of its last six Boeing 747s – an aircraft type that has been in its fleet in various forms since 1971.

QANTAS Group CEO Alan Joyce said the announcement was an important moment for the national carrier.

“This really is the end of one era and the start of another. The jumbo has been the backbone of QANTAS International for more than 40 years and we’ve flown almost every type that Boeing built. It’s fitting that its retirement is going to coincide with our centenary in 2020,” Mr Joyce said.

“Over the years, each new version of the 747 allowed QANTAS to fly further and improve what we offered passengers. The Dreamliners are now doing the same thing.

“The 787 has better economics and a longer range, and its already opened up new routes like Perth to London. With a larger fleet of Dreamliners, we’ll be looking at destinations in the Americas, Asia, South Africa and Europe.

“By the end of 2020 we’ll have farewelled the 747, finished upgrading the cabins of our A380s, and welcomed our fourteenth 787. That’s a great proposition for our customers and creates some really exciting opportunities for our people,” added Mr Joyce.

Interiors of the additional 787s will feature the same configuration as the existing aircraft. The QANTAS Dreamliner carries fewer passengers than the larger 747 (236 seats vs 364) and has a greater focus on Business and Premium Economy seating.

However, the reduced maintenance needs of the 787 plus more efficient aircraft patterning and reduced payload restrictions on long routes mean the actual impact on overall capacity for QANTAS International is expected to be negligible. The Dreamliner burns approximately 20 per cent less fuel.

To date, QANTAS has taken delivery of four 787-9s with a further four due to arrive by the end of 2018. The six announced today will arrive between late 2019 and mid-to-late 2020.

There are currently ten 747-400s left in the fleet and these will be steadily retired between July this year and the end of 2020.

QANTAS received the last of its 747s new from Boeing in 2003, which will be 17 years old at time of retirement.

Top Copyright Photo: QANTAS Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner VH-ZND (msn 63390) (Yam Dreaming) LHR (SPA). Image: 941740.

QANTAS Airways aircraft slide show:

Bottom Copyright Photo: QANTAS Airways Boeing 747-48E VH-OEB (msn 25778) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 940779.

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Endangered-Species-List/Endangered-Species-List/i-KQJWMx6/A

QANTAS makes history-making nonstop flight to London

QANTAS Airways’ first Perth to London flight has been completed, marking the start of the only direct air link between Australia and Europe – and the fastest way of traveling between the two continents.

The history-making flight QF9, carrying more than 200 passengers and 16 crew, pushed back just before 7 pm on Saturday evening and landed in London Heathrow at 5 am on Sunday.

Operated by a Boeing 787-9, the flight reduces total travel time by eliminating stopovers and taking advantage of the most favorable winds on any given day without having to factor in a mid-point in the Middle East or Asia when choosing a flight path.

Maps: GE Australia.

The original Kangaroo Route from Australia to London was named for the seven stops it made over four days back in 1947.

Mr Joyce said a huge amount of work had gone into improving the experience for customers taking the 17-hour journey.

“This is hands-down the most comfortable aircraft that QANTAS has ever put in the sky.

“Boeing designed the Dreamliner with features to reduce jetlag, turbulence and noise. We’ve taken that a step further with our cabin design, giving passengers more space in every class as well as bigger entertainment screens and more personal storage.

“We’ve worked with the University of Sydney and our consulting chef Neil Perry to create a menu that helps the body cope better with jetlag and adjusted the timing of when we serve food to encourage sleep.”

The daily QF9 begins in Melbourne, flying to Perth before then flying nonstop to London. QANTAS has adjusted the timing of some domestic services into Perth so that passengers from Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane can join the flight to London.

This first flight coincided with the opening of the airline’s new Perth International Transit Lounge featuring jetlag reducing lighting as well as pre-flight stretching classes, and relocating all of the airline’s domestic and international flights into a single terminal at Perth Airport for faster, smoother connections.

Above Copyright Photo: QANTAS Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner VH-ZND (msn 63390) (Yam Dreaming) PAE (Nick Dean). Image: 940992.

QANTAS chose its newest Dreamliner ‘Emily’ to operate the inaugural service, which features a striking livery by Balarinji based on the artwork Yam Dreaming by Indigenous artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. The initiative is part of the national carrier’s commitment to promoting the best of Australia to the world.

QANTAS customers can choose from three routes between Australia and London – the nonstop Perth-London service on the Dreamliner; a reinstated Sydney-Singapore-London service on the Airbus A380; and via Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth to London via Dubai with partner Emirates on mix of A380 and 777 aircraft.

NINE FAST FACTS ABOUT QF9 (PERTH-LONDON)

1. QF9 is operated by four pilots across the 17-hour journey, with one or two pilots resting at any one time.

2. The flight will follow different flight paths depending on the best winds, helping the aircraft fly faster and more efficiently. Qantas analysed a decade of seasonal wind patterns in preparation for the new service.

3. At 14,498km, QF9 is the third longest commercial flight currently in operation. It is the world’s longest Dreamliner flight.

4. QF9 will carry around 92 tonnes or 110,000 litres of fuel with the Dreamliner burning approximately 20 per cent less than traditional aircraft its size.

5. With a total seat count of 236 passengers, the Qantas Dreamliner has significantly fewer seats than many other airlines who have configured the same aircraft to carry more than 300 passengers.

6. Currently, most aircraft have cabin air pressure equivalent to that of an altitude of 8,000 ft. For the Dreamliner, Boeing cut that down to 6,000 ft, meaning it’s closer to conditions on the ground.

7. Menus for the flights between Perth and London have been designed to maintain hydration, aid sleep and reduce jetlag and include poke bowls as well as home style comfort food.

8. There are more than 21,000 individual items loaded onto the aircraft for each flight between Perth and London including 330 peppermint tea bags and hundreds of chocolate biscuits.

9. In 1947 a return flight from Sydney to London cost £525 when the average wage was £7. Today, the average Australian weekly wage is $1600 and a return fare from Perth to London can cost less than $1300.

QANTAS aircraft slide show:

QANTAS welcomes home its newest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the Indigenous Livery

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) on February 28, 2018 was handed by Boeing the pictured Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, registered as VH-ZND (msn 63390) (above). VH-ZND is decorated in the special “Yam Dreaming” livery.

QANTAS made this announcement on March 2:

QANTAS’ newest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which features a unique Indigenous livery, touched down in Alice Springs on March 2 (below).

The livery showcases the artwork of the late Northern Territory artist and senior Anmatyerre woman, Emily Kame Kngwarreye*. Based on her 1991 painting, Yam Dreaming, the design depicts the culturally significant yam plant, an important symbol in Emily’s Dreaming stories and a staple food source in her home region of Utopia, 230km north-east of Alice Springs.

Adapted by leading Indigenous owned design studio Balarinji, this special livery took a team of 60 people more than 10 days to complete.

The aircraft touched down in Alice Springs shortly after dawn following a 13,000 km journey from Boeing’s Everett facility and was warmly received by members of Emily’s family, who were joined by government officials and local community members.

Registered as VH-ZND, this aircraft carries the fifth design in the QANTAS Flying Art Series which started more than 20 years ago and is the only one dedicated to international flights.

It will fly several domestic services for crew familiarization before it enters service on international routes in late March.

The aircraft is the fourth Dreamliner to enter the QANTAS fleet, following the arrival of Great Southern Land, Waltzing Matilda and Quokka.

*Emily Kame Kngwarreye (pron. Emily Karma Nung-war-ray).

FAST FACTS

The livery based on Emily’s Yam Dreaming artwork took:
- A team of more than 60 graphic designers, engineers and painters at Boeing’s Seattle facility worked with Balarinji to install the design onto the aircraft, taking more than ten days to complete.
- There are close to 5000 dots on the aircraft.
This aircraft will be the second in the Flying Art series currently in service alongside a Boeing 737-800, named Mendoowoorrji.
QANTAS has worked with Indigenous owned design studio Balarinji for more than two decades on aircraft livery projects and other design work, including the Peter Morrissey uniform of 2003.
Yam Dreaming, 1991 is part of the Campbelltown City Council Permanent Collection and can be viewed at Campbelltown Arts Centre. The work was purchased in 1995 by Campbelltown City Council with assistance from the Australia Council.
Five QANTAS aircraft have been painted in Indigenous designs, with Wunala Dreaming carried on two separate aircraft.
QANTAS has a long-term commitment to reconciliation and the promotion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and economic development. Since the mid-1990s, Qantas has actively promoted the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture through unique customer experiences, including the Flying Art Series.
QANTAS is committed to ethical and transparent sourcing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and is proud to be a supporter of the Indigenous Art Code.
Fact sheet about Balarinji is available here.

EMILY KAME KNGWARREYE

Born in 1910 at Ahalkere in the Utopia Homelands, Emily Kame Kngwarreye is recognised worldwide as one of Australia’s most significant artists of the late 20th Century.
Her paintings influenced a change in the direction of Australian Aboriginal art from the use of traditional iconography to an open abstract landscape.
Working as a stock hand, she became very familiar with the local Utopia landscape and her paintings are maps of her traditional lands.
Emily’s paintings, depict the Utopia of her ancestors. Emily began painting quite late in her life, when she was almost 80 years of age.

Top Copyright Photo: QANTAS Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner VH-ZND (msn 63390) (Yam Dreaming) PAE (Nick Dean). Image: 940992.

QANTAS Airways aircraft slide show:

QANTAS’ beautiful “Yam Dreaming” flies in full sunshine

QANTAS Airways will soon take delivery of its fourth Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The pictured VH-ZND was unveiled by the airline on February 14, 2018.

The following day VH-ZND made its first flight by Boeing from Paine Field near Everett, Washington. However it was cloudy.

Yesterday VH-ZND flew again (above) and it was in full sunshine at Paine Field. Nick Dean was there to capture history.

As previously reported, VH-ZND is decorated in a special livery honoring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

The new livery features the work of the late Northern Territory artist and senior Anmatyerre woman, Emily Kame Kngwarreye*. It is based on her 1991 painting, Yam Dreaming and has been adapted for the aircraft by leading Indigenous owned design studio Balarinji.

The artwork depicts the culturally significant yam plant, an important symbol in Emily’s Dreaming stories and a staple food source in her home region of Utopia, 230km north-east of Alice Springs. The aircraft itself is named Emily Kame Kngwarreye in tribute to the artist.

The aircraft will fly direct for approximately 15 hours from the Boeing factory in Everett, WA to touch down in Alice Springs on March 2, 2018 where it will be welcomed by Emily’s family.

VH-ZND will then fly to Sydney and Melbourne for crew familiarization flights on QANTAS’ domestic network before it enters service on international routes from late March. This is the fourth Dreamliner to enter the QANTAS fleet, following the arrival of Great Southern Land, Waltzing Matilda and Quokka.

Copyright Photos: QANTAS Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner VH-ZND (msn 63390) (Yam Dreaming) PAE (Nick Dean). Image: 940992.