Prior to landing on Runway 16L at Sydney, the Dreamliner performed a fly-by over Sydney Harbour. Once on the ground, VH-ZNA taxied to Qantas Hangar 96 for a formal welcome ceremony.
VH-ZNA was unveiled earlier in the week with the name 'Great Southern Land'. The general public were asked to submit names for the Qantas Dreamliners, and 'Great Southern Land' was chosen for the first aircraft. Australian band 'Icehouse' were also on hand at Sydney Airport on Friday and performed their 1982 anthem "Great Southern Land".
Qantas has ordered eight Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners, configured with 236 seats across business, premium economy and economy class seating, with the first four to be based in Melbourne and operate via a Los Angeles-Mebourne-Perth-London (Heathrow) pattern. The second batch of four will be based in Brisbane, with two used to replace the Boeing B747-400/400ER jumbos on the Brisbane-Los Angeles-New York (JFK) route and two to open up a new route possibly to Dallas.
It is reported that VH-ZNA will be in Sydney for a week before flying down to Melbourne. The aircraft will be used on some domestic routes from Melbourne to Perth and Sydney ahead of commencing long-haul operations in December.
Hopefully we will see one of these attractive Qantas Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in CQ one day!
Sincere thanks to Michael C who is an old friend and now works for Qantas Airways.
All photos taken by Michael Cook ©
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