From the CEO
At the end of each year, many of us reflect on how much can happen in 12 short months. For the team at Qantas, 2018 has featured a number of exciting beginnings.
In January, we operated the first international flight – between Los Angeles and Melbourne – using biofuel, which was made possible by a non-food, industrial type of mustard seed that produces a high-quality oil.
Our history-making Perth-to-London service took off in March, connecting Australia and Europe with a regular, nonstop flight. Favourable tailwinds and new flight-planning techniques have helped us break speed records; so far, the fastest flight time on this route has been 15 hours and 34 minutes. That’s pretty amazing when you consider the journey used to be counted in days.
We welcomed additional airline codeshare partners and destinations, making it easier for Qantas customers to travel seamlessly around the world. These new partnerships mean our customers can fly to more than 250 destinations globally, complementing the 81 Qantas destinations around Australia and overseas.
We grew our fleet of Dreamliners to eight and ordered six more. Customer feedback about these aircraft has been fantastic and they burn about 20 per cent less fuel than the 747s they’re replacing. Looking ahead to next year, we’re continuing to invest in the customer experience and open doors to new facilities.
In September, we announced the location of our first Qantas Group Pilot Academy – Toowoomba, Queensland – which will open in mid-2019. The Academy will have the capacity to train up to 250 pilots from Australia and overseas annually, which is important as it’s estimated that almost 800,000 pilots will be required globally over the next 20 years.
We’re also excited to be building the First Lounge in Singapore to complement the very popular existing Business Lounge, which will undergo expansion.
I’d like to end the year by thanking you for choosing to fly with us. Whether you’re travelling overseas or within Australia or, like many of our Qantas team members, working through Christmas and the holiday period, I hope you get some time to recharge and be with your loved ones.