Qantas Freight

Qantas Freight
IATA ICAO Call sign
QF QFA QANTAS
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Hubs
SubsidiariesExpress Freighters Australia
Fleet size15
Destinations130
Parent companyQantas
HeadquartersSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Websitewww.qantasfreight.com

Qantas Freight is a subsidiary company of Australia's largest airline Qantas, responsible for the air cargo operations of the Qantas group.[1] It is the owner of freight airline Express Freighters Australia, freight forwarder Qantas Courier and trucking company Jets Transport Express. Qantas Freight was also a partner in two joint ventures with Australia Post: Australian airExpress, specialising in door-to-door package delivery, and StarTrack, a road freight company.[1][2] In November 2012 Qantas Freight fully acquired Australia air Express and divested its shareholding in Star Track to Australia Post. Qantas Freight was also the owner of Asian-based freight forwarder DPEXWorldwide until that company was acquired by its competitor Toll Holdings in 2010.[3]

Destinations

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As of October 2024 Qantas Freight directly serves 50 international and 80 domestic destinations. Qantas Freight has the ability to reach 480 global destinations through its airline partners, including Emirates, which it signed a cargo cooperation agreement with in 2024.[4]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Australia Adelaide Adelaide Airport [5]
Brisbane Brisbane Airport Hub [5]
Cairns Cairns Airport [5]
Darwin Darwin Airport [5]
Hobart Hobart Airport [5]
Launceston Launceston Airport [5]
Mackay Mackay Airport [5]
Melbourne Melbourne Airport Hub [5]
Perth Perth Airport [5]
Rockhampton Rockhampton Airport [5]
Sydney Sydney Airport Hub [5]
Townsville Townsville Airport [5]
China Chongqing Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport [6]
Shanghai Shanghai Pudong International Airport [6]
Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport [6]
Indonesia Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta International Airport [6]
New Zealand Auckland Auckland Airport [6]
Christchurch Christchurch Airport [6]
Thailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport [6]
United States Anchorage Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport [6]
Chicago O'Hare International Airport [6]
Dallas Dallas Fort Worth International Airport [6]
Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport [6]
Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport [6]
New York City John F. Kennedy International Airport [6]

Fleet

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An Airbus A321-200/P2F branded for Australia Post at Melbourne Airport in 2022.
A Boeing 737-400SF branded for Australia Post at Melbourne Airport in 2020.
A Boeing 767-300F at Sydney Airport in 2018, wearing the 2007 livery.
A formerly leased Boeing 747-400F at Melbourne Airport in 2008, wearing the Atlas Air livery.

In addition to placing freight on board the international and domestic flights of Qantas and Jetstar, Qantas Freight operates the following aircraft, as of August 2024:[7]

Aircraft In Service Order Operator Notes
Airbus A321-200/P2F 6 6[8][9] Express Freighters Australia Operated for Australia Post/StarTrack.[10][11][12]
Deliveries through to FY26.[9] Launch Customer.
Airbus A330-200/P2F 2[13][14] Express Freighters Australia[13] Converted from Qantas aircraft and delivered from 2023.[15]
One operated for Australia Post/StarTrack.
ATR 72-200F 1 Aerlink[16] VH-AK3 wet-leased from Aerlink[17][18]
Boeing 747-400F 3 Atlas Air Wet-leased from Atlas Air[19]
British Aerospace Bae 146-300/QT 3[20] National Jet Express[21] 3 branded for Australia Post/StarTrack.[21]
Total 15 6

In June 2016, the 737-400F, two of the 737-300Fs and three BAe 146s were rebranded and are operated as a dedicated fleet for Australia Post and StarTrack.[21]

In April 2019, Qantas Freight announced it would wet-lease two Atlas Air Boeing 747-8F aircraft to replace the two current wet-leased 747-400F aircraft.[22] The first aircraft landed in Sydney on 27 August with small Qantas Freight decals applied (visible when the forward nose cargo door is open), with the second due later in the week.[23]

In August 2019, Qantas Freight announced a deal with Australia Post which was worth $1.4 billion. Included in the deal was Qantas Freight's announcement of the purchase of the world's first A321P2F, of which they ordered 3 to be delivered from October 2020.[11]

In February 2023, Qantas announced that 3 additional A321P2F would be ordered for delivery in 2024 and 2025.[9]

In May 2024, Aerlink quietly announced that they would operate a wet-leased ATR 72-200F for Qantas Freight in Queensland, between Brisbane, Mackay and Rockhampton, with the service beginning in late June 2024[17][24]

Former Fleet

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Aircraft Number Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-300F 4 2013 2024
Boeing 737-400F 1 2017 2024
Boeing 767-300F 1 2010 2024 [25]

Price-fixing case

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Legal action was brought in the United States against a number of airlines' freight operations over allegations of price fixing between 2000 and 2006, including Qantas Freight. Following the imposition of a fine of US$300 million on British Airways, in November 2007 Qantas Freight agreed to plead guilty in a US court and was fined US$61 million.[26] In a separate development the former head of Qantas Freight in the United States was sentenced to eight months imprisonment in May 2008.[27] The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission also launched legal action in Australia, and in October 2008 Qantas' management agreed to settle the case with a fine of A$20 million.[28] Qantas is also facing a number of class action lawsuits.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b Qantas subsidiaries page. Retrieved: 20 April 2012
  2. ^ Star Track Express - About Us. Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved: 15 November 2008.
  3. ^ Toll Group announces Asian acquisition and provides trading update Toll Holdings 21 February 2011
  4. ^ "Route maps". Qantas Freight.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Domestic route map" (PDF). Qantas Freight.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "International route map" (PDF). Qantas Freight.
  7. ^ Qantas Freight - About Us. Retrieved: 15 November 2008.
  8. ^ "Qantas snubs Boeing to order six more A321s freighters". Australian Aviation. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Qantas Group Updates Fleet Plan To Boost Capacity". 23 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Australia's Qantas Freight to add A321 freighters from 4Q20". Ch-Aviation. 12 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b Knight, Dominic Powell, Elizabeth (9 August 2019). "'This is pretty big': Qantas, AusPost seal $1.4bn deal to tackle online shopping". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Aviation Photo #6197717: Airbus A321-231(P2F) - Qantas Freight (Express Freighters Australia)". Airliners.net. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Qantas welcomes 1st A330-200P2F". Scramble. 23 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Qantas adds second EFW-converted A330P2F". www.aircargonews.net. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Qantas to convert two A330-200s into freighters". Ch-Aviation. 7 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Specialise in Air Freight and Cargo Services in Australia | Aerlink Charter Flight". MyAERLINK03. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b Curran, Andrew (11 July 2024). "Australia's Aerlink starts flight ops for Qantas Freight". ch-aviation. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Flight history for aircraft - VH-AK3". Flightradar24. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Atlas Air Extends Partnership with Qantas Freight". Yahoo Finance. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  20. ^ "747F for Qantas Freight". Australian Aviation. 26 April 2013.
  21. ^ a b c "Qantas establishes dedicated freighter fleet for Australia Post". Australian Aviation. 2 May 2016.
  22. ^ "BOEING 747-8F TO JOIN QANTAS FREIGHT FLEET". 4 April 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Media Releases - JUMBO SIZED DELIVERY FOR QANTAS FREIGHT TOUCHES DOWN". Qantas. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  24. ^ Times, STAT (30 May 2024). "ACIA delivers two ATR 72-212 large cargo door freighters to Aerlink". www.stattimes.com. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Qantas Group ends B767 operations". Ch-Aviation. 23 May 2024.
  26. ^ Qantas admits cargo price fixing, BBC News 27 November 2007
  27. ^ Rochfort, Scott. "Jail for former Qantas boss in cargo price-fixing cartel", Sydney Morning Herald 10 May 2008. Retrieved: 15 November 2008.
  28. ^ a b "Qantas fined $20m for price fixing", ABC News, 28 October 2008. Retrieved: 15 November 2008.
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Media related to Qantas Freight at Wikimedia Commons