Review by Phil Vabre
The Boeing 747 – the ‘Jumbo Jet’ – is an icon, instantly recognisable even by the most non-aviation of people. For several generations of Australians, the Boeing 747 represents their gateway to the world and, for many, passage into adulthood. Likewise, Qantas still occupies a special place in the Australian psyche as ‘Australia’s international airline’, even though that hasn’t really been true for a long time. Jim Eames goes right to the heart of these matters of deep importance to Australians with this story of the long affair between Qantas and the 747.
The story of the 747 in Australia begins in the 1960s, well before the prototype even flew in 1969. The decade was a period of great change in civil aviation with the competing concepts of supersonic airliners and a huge leap in size for subsonic airliners occupying a great deal of attention. How would these new types of airline aircraft be accommodated, both operationally and physically?
Jim Eames is perhaps uniquely placed to tell the tale of Qantas and the Boeing 747. A journalist by background, Jim worked in the 1960s as a public relations officer and ministerial press secretary in the Department of Civil Aviation when the very idea of this new, giant aircraft was being grappled with. In the 1970s, Jim switched to Qantas where he worked at senior levels in the airline throughout the heyday of the 747’s introduction and long, distinguished service (the author is a friend I have assisted with information for some of his previous books).
If you’re after a history book with facts, figures, dates and so on, this is not it. There is not even a list of all the Boeing 747s operated by Qantas. What you do get is an often-intimate insight into how the 747 was conceived, developed, introduced and operated by Qantas. With a journalist’s eye (ear?) for a good yarn, and a wide range of contacts and informants, the author has put together what is essentially a collection of anecdotes that, together, paint a picture of the many, many facets of the aircraft that in time became known as ‘The Queen of the Skies’.
The aircraft is of great importance to Australia and has been since the early days of flight. While the aircraft manufacturing industry in Australia has never made much of a mark, Australia has long been known and highly regarded internationally for its operational expertise. Since the 1930s ,Qantas has been at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of what is possible and, as the author shows, this was at the centre of the Qantas experience with the Jumbo. From the very beginning, Qantas assessed the early model 747 as lacking the performance required by the airline’s demanding route structure. It worked closely with Boeing to specify what would become the Boeing 747B (-200), with the increased performance necessary for the long trans-Pacific legs operated by Qantas. This partnership between operator and manufacturer continued throughout the life of the Jumbo, with more capable models being continually developed, and purchased by Qantas.
The author provides us with a view of the Boeing 747 that is otherwise only known to a relative few within Qantas. For example, the new aircraft was a huge sensation and we learn about the junkets organised for politicians and other flunkies to Seattle for the christening of each new Qantas airframe. We also learn about the vital airlift role the Qantas 747s have played in various national emergencies, from the evacuation of orphans at the end of the Vietnam War, to the evacuation of residents from Darwin in the wake of Cyclone Tracy. The story of the world record non-stop delivery flight from London to Sydney of the first -400 model in 1989 is also told with some fascinating details about the secrecy involved in the planning. We also learn about the people who maintained and operated the 747, with numerous pen-portraits of interesting characters and often humorous situations.
Occasionally, the author’s lack of operational experience shows. For example, one quote suggests a log of surrounding traffic was handed from one captain to another at stopovers, when I’m pretty sure original context was at the changeover of crews in flight. There are also a couple of curious omissions from the story. For example, there is no explicit mention of the short period in the 1970s when Qantas’ claim to fame was being an ‘all Boeing 747 airline’. It wasn’t long before the airline realised some of its routes required a smaller aircraft and purchased the Boeing 767. No mention is made either of the embarrassing loss to rival Ansett of the contract as the ‘official airline’ of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. As if to rub it in, Ansett painted one of its own 747s in a special livery though, reputedly, many people believed Qantas was the ‘official’ airline anyway!
Finally, the author takes us through the remarkable decisions to preserve not one, but two of these iconic aircraft – one at the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach, Queensland, and the other at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society at Albion Park, New South Wales. Considering the dearth of any other preserved airliners from the jet era in Australia, we are lucky indeed to have these two preserved airframes. With a total Qantas service a few weeks shy of an incredible 50 years, the final departure of the last Qantas Boeing 747 in July 2020 brought to a close an era unmatched in civil air transport. Jim Eames’ book is a fitting tribute to an aircraft – and an airline – that served Australia, and the world, well.
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