On Monday evening, as Qantas flight QF100 flew at a low altitude along the New South Wales coast, and above the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, many below may not have known the significance of the special flight.
The airline, which is arguably the second most well known in New Zealand, was in the air to celebrate 100 years of flying.
Qantas would be the world's oldest airline were it not for KLM from the Netherlands, and Avianca from Columbia, which both beat it to the skies just 12 months earlier.
This year was meant to be massive for Australia's national carrier. It was on track to launch non-stop flights from Sydney to London and New York. Instead, many of its aircraft are parked up in small lonely airports around Australia.
There's only one thing more nostalgic than a walk down memory lane, and that's a flight above it.
Here's a timeline looking back at 100 years of Qantas:
1920
If you've ever wondered where the Qantas name came from, then you're about to find out. It was in this year that the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd was first registered as a business in Queensland, consisting of two aircraft.
1921
The airline operated charter flights across Queensland, before introducing its first passenger and mail service in 1922.
1938
Just like Air New Zealand, Qantas' first international flights took off from on water. In this case, flights to Singapore from Sydney's Rose Bay.
1947
As well as becoming nationalised, this was a big year for Qantas. It began operating flights from Australia all the way to London, known as the "Kangaroo route".
1954
This was a royal year for Qantas, Queen Elizabeth flew the airline during her Australian visit.
1959
Touchdown for Boeing. The airline begins using 707s on flights from Australia to San Francisco
1961
The first Qantas branded services to New Zealand began using Lockheed Electra turboprops to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.
1979
A situation that would be unthinkable in modern times, in 1979 Qantas' entire fleet was made of Boeing 747s
1993
Qantas, at this point in time, was an international only carrier. In 1993, the government merged Qantas with its domestic carrier Australian Airlines and sold the company to private investors.
2004
Qantas launched low-cost carrier Jetstar. A move that would change Australiasian travel forever.
2008
Qantas welcomes the talking point of the travel world to its fleet, the Airbus A380 superjumbo.
2018
Qantas began what was meant to be the beginning of a sting of legacy projects, ultra-long-haul-flights. In 2018, the airline started a non-stop flight from Perth to London using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
2020
Qantas, like most airlines around the world, grounded the bulk of its fleet and faced massive staff cuts as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world.
The future of the airline, and the entire travel industry is up in the air at the moment, but to quote the air traffic controller who congratulates the airline for its 100 years of service, “here’s to many more.”
Do you have any fun memories of Qantas to share? Then head to our Facebook Travel Group and let us know.
