Qantas Dreamliner ‘game changer’ arrives in Sydney on Friday

Spacious, quiet and less bumpy

Qantas has unveiled its first Boeing Dreamliner at a ceremony at the Boeing factory in Seattle, the game-changing aircraft that will open up new routes and new levels of comfort for travellers.

Legendary Aussie band Icehouse frontman Iva Davies and Aborginal didgeridoo veteran William Barton were on hand to perform Great Southern Land, the name of the new Dreamliner. It is scheduled to land in Sydney on Friday (October 20) after it performs a flyover of Sydney Harbour, weather and air traffic control permitting.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the first Dreamliner heralded the arrival of an exciting new era for the national carrier and for travellers.

The newest addition, the 787-9 Dreamliner, features next generation seating in Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class, with more space and a lower passenger count than most of its competitors. Other Dreamliner features include bigger windows to create a greater sense of space, better air quality and ride dampening technology to minimise the effects of turbulence. It is also quieter, more fuel efficient and generates fewer greenhouse emissions than similarly-sized aircraft.

“A new type of aircraft is always an important milestone for an airline and the 787 is a game-changer,” Mr Joyce said. “From the distance it’s able to fly, to the attention to detail we’ve put into the cabin design, it will reshape what people come to expect from international travel.

“The Dreamliner makes routes like Perth to London possible, which will be the first direct air link Australia has ever had with Europe. And it means other potential routes are now on the drawing board as well.”

Mr Joyce said there were lots of elements that combine to make the Qantas Dreamliner special: the seats, the lighting, the entertainment, personal storage, right through to the special crockery, cutlery and glassware that weighs on average 11 per cent less.

“We’re working with sleep specialists, dieticians and other scientists at the University of Sydney to see how adjustments to our inflight service can improve wellbeing and help people adjust to new timezones,” he said.

The interiors of the aircraft and seating were shaped by Australian industrial designer David Caon who has collaborated with Qantas on cabin upgrades and its lounges in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Eight Dreamliners will be delivered to Qantas by the end of next year, enabling the retirement of five of the airline’s “queen of the skies” 747s.

Two Dreamliner routes announced so far are the Melbourne to Los Angeles, starting in December this year, and Perth to London, starting in March next year. Additional flights from Brisbane have also been flagged with four of the Dreamliners to call the Queensland capital home.

The name Great Southern Land was chosen for the first aircraft out of 45,000 suggestions from the  public. Each Dreamliner will be named after something that is uniquely Australian, including animals, places and literature.

New biofuel initiative announced

Qantas last week announced its Los Angeles based aircraft will be powered by biofuel from 2020, reducing the airline’s carbon emissions on its services operating between the US and Australia.

Over the next decade, the airline will purchase eight million gallons (30 million litres) of renewable jet fuel each year from US based bio-energy company, SG Preston. The fuel will be used by Qantas’s aircraft operating from Los Angeles Airport (LAX) to Australia and follows the Qantas Group’s successful domestic biofuel trial flights in 2012.

The fuel consists of 50 percent renewable jet fuel produced from non-food plant oils, blended with 50 percent traditional jet fuel.  Compared to standard jet fuel, the biofuel emits half the amount of carbon emissions per gallon over its life cycle.

ANOTHER HIGH FIVE FOR QANTAS & EMIRATES