SYDNEY, 2014-12-29 — /Travel PR News/ — Qantas will today (27th December 2014) say farewell to its last Boeing 767, as the aircraft conducts its final flight – with the special flight number of QF767 – from Melbourne to Sydney.
The Boeing 767 has been in the Qantas fleet since July 1985 and for a time was the ‘workhorse’ of the fleet, carrying nearly 168 million passengers on over 927,000 flights.
Qantas Head of Flying Operations and Boeing 767 pilot, Captain Mike Galvin, said the 767 had served Qantas extremely well over the past 29 years.
“The 767 has been a staple in the Qantas fleet for more than two decades and was a favourite with both crew and customers. It’s been an extremely reliable aircraft and has served Qantas and our customers very well over the years,” Captain Galvin said.
“While it’s sad to say goodbye, it’s definitely time to retire the 767s as we have been bringing in newer aircraft that are more advanced and fuel efficient. It’s also part of reducing complexity in our fleet by reducing the number of different aircraft types we fly from 11 down to seven.”
Qantas had a total of 41 Boeing 767 in its fleet over the years, which collectively flew more than 1.8 billion kilometers – the equivalent of 2,438 return trips to the moon.
A widebody aircraft capable of carrying about 250 people, the B767 was used in recent years flying between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as from the east coast to Perth.
Much of the flying done by the B767s will be taken over by Qantas’ fleet of newer and larger A330s, which are receiving a major interior upgrade and seat around 300 people. The remainder of the flying will be done through increased utilisation of the airline’s smaller B737s.
Since FY09, Qantas has taken delivery of over 140 new aircraft while retiring more than 80 – bringing the average age of its fleet down to 7.7 years, which is the lowest it has been for more than two decades and is significantly younger than the averages in North America, Europe or Asia Pacific.
The final Qantas Boeing 767 flight will depart Melbourne at 5pm and will do a flyover Sydney CBD, before landing at the airport at 6.25pm.
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