Aussie Carrier Orders Four 787-9 and Eight 787-10 Jets

Australian flag-carrier Qantas has selected Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner family to serve as the cornerstone of the air-carrier’s efforts to modernize its wide-body aircraft fleet. To that end, the airline—the name of which is an acronym connoting Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services—has placed an order for four 787-9 and eight 787-10 jets.

Qantas deems the 787 family pivotal to its growth and carbon-management initiatives over the next decade.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce stated: "This is another multi-billion-dollar investment in the national carrier, and it's great news for our customers and our people. The 787 and the GE engines fitted to them are thoroughly proven and extremely capable."

The 787—by dint of its constituent material and aerodynamic technologies—is eminently conducive to Qantas’s near- and long-term sustainability goals. The General Electric GEnx family dual-rotor, axial-flow, high-bypass turbofan engines by which the 787-9 and 787-10 are powered are quieter and more fuel-efficient than previous generation powerplants. Moreover, the mills are designed to run normally on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)—the makers of which assert the stuff reduces CO2 emissions by as much as eighty-percent over conventional petroleum jet fuels.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal remarked: "With its market-leading environmental performance, the 787 Dreamliner is central to Qantas' unwavering commitment to operate one of the most sustainable and capable fleets in the airline industry. Both the 787-9 and 787-10 offer enhanced efficiency, flexibility and passenger comfort to connect Australia and destinations around the world."

The operating economics of Boeing’s 787 family will enable Qantas to add new destinations and ultra-long-range routes to its existing network. The 787-9 is capable of flying 7,565-nautical-miles non-stop, connecting Australia directly to North America and Europe. The larger 787-10, which concedes endurance for capacity but still manages a non-stop range of 6,330-nautical-miles, will allow Qantas to service numerous popular, heavily-traveled, international and regional routes. Currently Qantas’s Dreamliner fleet numbers 14 planes and comprises 787-9 aircraft exclusively.

FMI: www.qantas.com