Qantas’ last Boeing 767 aircraft took its final flight in December before the airline retired it after almost 30 years in the sky. We were there to check it out as passengers, but Qantas had a camera in the cockpit to give us a great view of the final flight.
QF767 would usually be a flight to Perth from Brisbane — Qantas renumbered QF452 to mark the occasion. The aircraft flying the final flight was “City Of Wangaratta” registered as VH-OGL and first flown in 1991. It departed from Gate 3 at Melbourne Tullamarine, with a large crowd of dedicated aviation photographers and Instagram addicts there to capture the event.
When used for passenger services on Qantas, the 767 had a passenger capacity of 229 (25 in business and 204 in economy). The first Qantas 767-200 flew in 1985 and the first 767-300 (the model being retired today) flew in 1987. The 767 design that Qantas used until today has no winglets and uses the GE CF6 engines (also found in the A300, A330 and the Boeing 747).
So why give up on the 767, a versatile aircraft which can handle short-haul and long-haul flights? The main problem — fuel efficiency and the need to have a less diverse aircraft fleet. Qantas is replacing the 767 with new Boeing 737-800s and A330s.
Angus Kidman also contributed to this article.