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Qantas is Australia's oldest and largest airline, and the world's third oldest airline (after KLM and Avianca). Its IATA designator is QF.

1 History

The company was founded on 16 November 1920 as " Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited", but soon became known simply as Qantas, and adopted that name officially.

Qantas was nationalised in 1947 by the Australian Labor Party Federal Government when Ben Chifley was Prime Minister. It remained in public ownership for over four decades until the 1990s, and was successfully privatised, listing on the Australian Stock ExchangeThe Australian Stock Exchange or ASX is the organisation responsible for the operation of Australia's primary stock exchange. The ASX was formed in 1987 by an amalgamation of the separate exchanges located in the six state capitals. It is now located in B with the ticker symbol QAN.

Since the merger with Australian Airlines in 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic., it has flown an extensive schedule between all Australian capital cities, as well as many regional cities and towns. It also flies many international routes to and from Australia.

Qantas has a reputation for being an aggressive competitor in the Australian aviation market. Over the years, several domestic Australian airlines have gone out of business amid complaints of anti-competitive pricing by Qantas and exorbitant prices on the newly non-competitive routes. After SeptemberSeptember is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 30 days. The name comes from the Latin septem for " seven" September was originally the seventh month of the year, before January and February were inserted. In Greek civilization, S 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap, and the collapse of Ansett Airlines, Qantas held a near monopoly on the Australian domestic air travel market. Virgin BlueBoeing 737 Virgin Blue is an Australian domestic low-cost airline founded by the British businessman Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records. Virgin Blue was launched on 3 August 2000, initially offering 7 return flights a day between Brisbane and, a cut-price competitor, has eaten into this market share somewhat, and Qantas has responded by creating a new, cut-price subsidiary airline named JetstarFor the aircraft, see Lockheed JetStar. Jetstar Airways is an Australian domestic low-cost airline launched in 2004. Jetstar is a subsidiary of Qantas Airways, created in response to the threat posed by low-cost airline Virgin Blue. Although owned by Qant. Qantas hopes that this move will "crowd out" the cut-price segment of the market, allowing Qantas to remain the superdominant player in the Australian domestic aviation market and one of the few profitable full-service airlines in the world.

Qantas has attempted to expand into the New Zealand domestic air travel market, first with a shareholding in Air New Zealand, then by a franchise takeover of Ansett New Zealand. As of July 2003, they were awaiting regulatory approval to purchase a larger (but still minority) stake in Air New Zealand.

In 1993 British Airways bought a 25% share in the company for A$665m. In September 2004, British Airways disposed of its share in Qantas, expected to amount to A$1.1bn ($759m). BA's original 25% share was diluted since to 18.5% due to the issue of more shares. By law, Qantas must be at least 51% Australian-owned, and the British Airways holding had brought foreign ownership to the maximum permissable. Commentators believe the sale, and resulting greater Australian ownership, will free up hurdles for Qantas to expand into Asia.

It is often claimed, most notably in the movie Rain Man, that Qantas has never had a fatal crash. However, the company's official line is that it has never lost a jet aircraft. Prior to the jet era, Qantas had fatal crashes. One was on July 16, 1951, when a Qantas deHavilland Drover registered VH-EBQ crashed in New Guinea after an engine failure, killing all 7 passengers and crew. Other fatal accidents occurred in 1927, 1934, 1942, 1943 (2), and 1944. Qantas' record in the jet era was spotless until a Qantas plane crash-landed in Bangkok in 1999. [1] There were no fatalities.

Qantas is responsible for some of the most successful marketing campaigns in Australian history, with many advertising campaigns featuring renditions by children's choirs of Peter Allen's "I Still Call Australia Home", set to footage of breathtaking scenery.