Qantas is Australia’s largest airline and one of the world’s leading international carriers. It serves dozens of domestic and international destinations. Qantas is known as “The Flying Kangaroo” airline, in reference to the flying kangaroo logo on the tail of its aircraft. It has headquarters in Sydney, Australia.
Qantas was founded by two former Australian Flying Corps officers, W. Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness, and wealthy grazier (rancher) Fergus McMaster. In 1919, Fysh and McGinness accepted an assignment from the Australian Defense Department to survey an air race route across northern Australia. The men traveled over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) in a Model T Ford from Longreach in Queensland to Katherine in the Northern Territory. Some areas of the region, called the outback, had no roads and no bridges over rivers. The journey took Fysh and McGinness 51 days. It convinced them of the need for an air service linking locations in Queensland and across northern Australia.
In 1920, Fysh, McGinness, and McMaster established Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS). The airline’s name was shortened to the acronym QANTAS, which later became Qantas. Arthur Baird, a former Flying Corps flight sergeant, joined the group as aircraft mechanic. The four men were the airline’s entire staff. McMaster served as the first chairman of Qantas.
Qantas air service began in 1921 with two biplanes carrying one or two passengers in open cockpits. McGinness and Baird flew joy-riding and charter flights to raise money for the airline. In 1922, Qantas began the first airmail and passenger service in Queensland. In 1974, Qantas set a world record for carrying the most passengers on a single aircraft when it evacuated 673 people on a 747 flight from Darwin, Australia, after a cyclone hit the city.
Qantas launched Australian Airlines, a new low-cost international carrier, in 2003, and Jetstar, a new low-cost domestic airline, in 2004. Australian Airlines ceased operations in 2006, and Jetstar began international service.
Qantas faced its worst financial crisis in 2014, when the struggling carrier posted a record loss of over $2 billion. However, during a massive restructuring led by Qantas Group chief executive officer (CEO) Alan Joyce, the airline turned its financial woes into a strong performance and profit in 2015. Qantas attributed the quick turnaround to a steep reduction in fuel costs and a major cost-cutting plan that included thousands of job cuts.
In 2018, Qantas introduced non-stop flights from Perth to London, one of the world’s longest commercial flight routes. In 2023, Vanessa Hudson became the first woman CEO of Qantas Group.
