Ninety years ago today two passengers took off from Brisbane heading to Singapore on Qantas’ first international flight.
Qantas CEO International Cam Wallace said since then the national carrier has transported more than 273 million customers across the international network, which now spanned 56 routes to 34 destinations in 25 countries.
“On 17 April 1935, Qantas operated Australia’s first international passenger flight from Brisbane to Singapore, carrying two customers on a DH86 aircraft,” Mr Wallace said.
“The flight took three and a half days with 16 stops along the way.”
He said today thousands of passengers were flying daily on nonstop services between Australia to Singapore, with the current average flying time between Brisbane and Singapore eight hours on an Airbus A330.
“Over 7.6 million customers travelled on our broader international network in 2024 – a powerful reflection of how far international travel has come.”
Mr Wallace said to mark the occasion Qantas would create three limited edition amenity kits for Business customers, featuring art from Qantas’ historic archives, which will be rolled out across the network in the coming months.
“We’re incredibly proud of our history, but equally excited about what’s ahead. This year will see more growth across the Qantas international network, with the launch of flights from Melbourne to Honolulu next month and Sydney to Sapporo later in the year.
“We also look forward to the arrival of our new A350 aircraft, which will reshape what’s possible in ultra-long-haul travel with the introduction of our Project Sunrise non-stop flights from Sydney to London and New York.”
