QANTAS will operate its last international Boeing 767 services on 12 September 2014, after almost 30 years of service. The sole remaining international route serviced by a QANTAS 767 were the Hawai’i flights to Honolulu. Flight QF3 will depart Sydney at 19:40 on 12 September arriving at Honolulu on the same day, The return service as flight QF4 will leave Honolulu at 10:55 arriving in Sydney on 13 September at 15:50. The carrier will use larger capacity Airbus A330 aircraft which feature an improved product offering over the 767 DreamTime Business Class seats, given the A330s have SkyBed Business Class. It will be the only airline to offer a bed option in Business on non-stop services from Australia to Hawai’i. The other carriers operating on this market, Jetstar Airways and Hawaiian offer a conventional Business Class seat with A330s.
QANTAS and the 767 – almost 30 years of exemplary service
The 767 has proven to be a true work horse of the QANTAS fleet both domestically and internationally. The airline initially operated the 767-200 when it first received it in July 1985. Prior to this time from the late 70s, QANTAS was exclusively an all 747 operator. The 767s allowed the carrier to expand in markets and increase frequency in Asia and across the Tasman where 747s were too large. In 1987 the larger capacity 767-300s entered the fleet. In 2000 QANTAS leased seven 767-300s from British Airways – these aircraft had different internal configurations over the standard newly delivered QANTAS aircraft and were used on domestic services. From 2001 to 2006, the 767s were transferred to the full service leisure based carrier Australian Airlines.
The 767s are being progressively phased out of the fleet – the carrier plans to simply the domestic fleet to just two aircraft type – the Boeing 737-800 and A330-200s/300s. The remaining 767s will now operate primarily on domestic services between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and some trans-Continental services to Perth. The final 767 services are planned for 27 December 2014 on flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The last 767 flight at this time is scheduled to be QF490 27 December from Melbourne to Sydney departing at 20:00. It will be a sad day for aviation and airline enthusiasts as this aircraft type is a firm favourite. Over the course of its life at QANTAS it has been a remarkable and extremely successful aircraft. The versatility of this aircraft is probably unique being able to operate short high frequency sectors as well as long range routes. Such is the uniqueness and versatility of this aircraft that it can be argued that the only aircraft to replace a 767 is another 767. Many airlines are extending the life of this aircraft in their fleets with enhancements such as winglets to gain cost efficiency. The aircraft is still in production at Boeing.
