Qantas retires last Boeing 717 after brief return

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Qantas retires last Boeing 717 after brief return

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Simple Flying | Simple Flying

By Sky Industry News

Jan 5, 2025

Qantas has officially retired its last Boeing 717 aircraft, marking the end of an era in Australian aviation. The airline had previously announced the retirement of these aircraft in October 2024 but briefly brought one back into service due to operational needs.

In a statement from October 26th, Qantas said, “Today marks the end of an era for the Qantas Group with the last remaining QantasLink Boeing 717 jet taking passengers to Australian skies for the final time.” Despite this announcement, a Boeing 717 registered as VH-YQW was spotted flying again in November to fill in for Network Aviation's Fokker 100s facing reliability issues.

Flight records indicate that VH-YQW resumed flights on November 5th and operated routes including Perth International to Paraburdoo and other destinations such as Sydney, Hobart, Canberra, and Melbourne Tullamarine throughout December.

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The Boeing 717 has been integral to Australian commercial aviation since Impulse Airways first introduced it. After Impulse Airways was acquired by Qantas in 2001, these aircraft began operating under QantasLink. They also played a role in Jetstar's early operations before returning to QantasLink.

Rachel Yangoyan, CEO of QantasLink, remarked on their significance: “The 717 aircraft have a long history in Qantas and Jetstar’s fleet. From being the aircraft that launched Jetstar’s first ever flights in 2004 to serving major cities, regional towns, and the mining sector in the West as part of QantasLink for more than 20 years, we know our people and customers have loved flying on the 717.”

On December 30th, VH-YQW completed its final flight from Canberra to Brisbane. It is rumored that this last Boeing 717 will be donated to an aviation school based in Brisbane. As QantasLink transitions to Airbus A220s for improved efficiency and comfort, Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines remain among the few operators still using Boeing 717s but are expected to retire them soon.