Living the Dream as Qantas comes home to Queensland with 787 base

Queensland will be home to the East Coast and Pacific operations of Qantas’ newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner, under a deal secured by the Palaszczuk Government.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the decision by Qantas to base half its Dreamliner fleet in Brisbane, supporting 470 jobs, was a testament to Queensland’s place in the airline’s future and past.

The four Dreamliners are collectively worth $1 billion.

“Now, more than ever, Queensland puts the ‘Q’ in Qantas,” the Premier said.

“The Dreamliner is one of the new generation of highly efficient, ultra-long range passenger aircraft.

“It will put Brisbane in range of direct flights to cities including Dallas, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Chicago and Seattle, opening up new markets for business and tourism.

“It also adds to the range of highly skilled Brisbane-based jobs with Qantas.

“120 flight and cabin crew who will fly the Dreamliner will be based in Brisbane, with the crew base also supporting an additional 350 jobs.

“November will mark 97 years since Qantas was founded in Winton, and 95 years since the airline flew its first schedule passenger service from Longreach to Cloncurry.

“Today, there’s no better example of how families and businesses throughout regional Queensland are now connected with the rest of the world.”

Treasurer Curtis Pitt said thanks to Palaszczuk Government initiatives, the number of international airlines choosing to operate flights into Queensland was growing all the time.

“Since the Palaszczuk Government came to power we have secured new flights bringing 600,000 additional seats to Queensland, injecting $450 million into our economy every year,” Mr Pitt said.

“This would not have been possible without programs like the $40 million Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund and our $10 million Attracting Aviation Industry Fund, both of which are designed to secure exactly this type of investment.

“Queensland's future as an international tourism and aviation hub looks bright with this announcement and the Brisbane Airport Corporation's expansion plans to meet forecast growth in demand.”

Minister for State Development Dr Anthony Lynham said the new Brisbane crew base added to an impressive array of work being done by Qantas in Brisbane.

“Qantas has already chosen Brisbane as the site for the refurbishment of its Airbus A330s, and is installing Wifi here on its A330s and B737s,” said Dr Lynham.

“Securing deals like this not only opens up Queensland’s access to the rest of the world, it creates new employment opportunities in some of the world’s most highly-skilled fields.”

Qantas is yet to announce where the Brisbane-based Dreamliners will operate to. The airline will take delivery of the first of the Brisbane-based Boeing 787-900s in mid-2018.

Media Contact:

Premier’s Office:                   Geoff Breusch           0417 272 875

Treasurer’s Office:                Lindsay Marshall      0447 316 432

Minister Lynham’s Office:     Ben Mulcahy             0419 562 389