Qantas has unveiled a visually stunning new livery for its inaugural Airbus A220, which is scheduled to arrive in Australia by the end of 2023 and has recently left the paint shop in Mirabel, Canada.
About two weeks were needed for 100 painters to finish the striking livery, which has 20,000 dots and is modeled after a piece of artwork called Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa by senior Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker.
As a part of the airline’s Flying Art Series, which began in 1994 when a Boeing 747 jumbo jet was painted in the recognizable Wunala Dreaming livery, the aircraft is the sixth Qantas aircraft to have a unique Aboriginal paint scheme.
Twenty Airbus A220s are scheduled to be delivered to Qantas as part of a comprehensive fleet renewal program for its QantasLink regional fleet. The aging Boeing 717s will be replaced by A220s, which will have a range of almost twice as far as the older aircraft.
CEO Vanessa Hudson anticipates that the A220s will “change the game” for local and domestic travel by providing access to new domestic and international routes that the 717s were previously unable to serve.
“These aircraft have the potential to change the way our customers travel across the country, with the ability to connect any two cities or towns in Australia,” Hudson said on Wednesday.
“That means faster and more convenient travel for business trips and exciting new possibilities for holiday travel. A whole new fleet type also means a lot of opportunities for our people to operate and look after these aircraft.”
