Qantas (QF/QFA) has been flying the Australian flag since its foundation in 1920 and holds one of the best airline safety records in the world. The carrier today operates a mainline fleet of 137 aircraft, supported by a further 122 aircraft operated by Qantas Link (QLK). Let’s take a look at the Qantas fleet and identify the newest and oldest aircraft in active service as of March 2024. Qantas has an average fleet age of 14.9 years.
Aircraft type Number in fleet
Airbus A321 P2F 4
Airbus A330-200 18
Airbus A330-300 10
Airbus A380-800 12
Boeing 737-300 P2F 2
Boeing 737-400 P2F 1
Boeing 737-800 75
Boeing 767-300 F 1
Boeing 787-9 14
Qantas widebodies
The newest widebody jet in service at Qantas is ZH-VNN, a 3-year-old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner built in November 2020. Based between Perth (PER) and Melbourne (MEL), this aircraft operates long haul flights to destinations including Dallas (DFW), Vancouver (YVR), Santiago (SCL) and Los Angeles (LAX). Whilst primarily used on international routes, the aircraft is sometimes deployed on internal flights to Sydney (SYD).
The oldest widebody in active service at Qantas is VH-EBA. This Airbus A330-202 was built in October 2002. This aircraft is primarily used on domestic flights between Sydney (SYD), Perth (PER) and Melbourne (MEL), as well as international routes between Australia and Jakarta (CGK) and Singapore (SIN).
Qantas narrowbodies and regional jets
Qantas’ narrowbody fleet is split between the mainline fleet and QantasLink. The mainline fleet is focussed on Boeing narrowbodies, whilst the QantasLink fleet is primarily made up of Airbus aircraft.
Aircraft type Number in fleet
Airbus A319 3
Airbus A320 16
Boeing 717-200 13 (9 active)
Airbus A220-300 2
Dash 8-200 3
Dash 8-300 16
Dash 8 Q400 31
Embraer 190 20
Fokker 100 18
The newest narrowbody jet in the Qantas fleet is VH-X4B, an Airbus A220-300 operated by Qantas Link and built in January 2024. The aircraft operates Australian domestic flights around 4 times daily, most frequently shuttling between Canberra (CBR) and Melbourne (MEL).
The oldest jet in the mainline Qantas fleet is VH-VXA, a 22-year-old Boeing 737-800 built in December 2001. This aircraft operates upwards of 7 domestic flights per-day between airports including Sydney (SYD), Canberra (CBR), Melbourne (MEL), Perth (PER) and Solomon (SLJ).
The oldest jet in the QantasLink fleet is VH-NHO, a 33-year-old Fokker 100 built in July 1990. Based in Perth (PER), this aircraft operates daily internal flights to Carosue Dam (WCD), Paraburdoo (PBO) and Karratha (KTA). Qantas Link operates one of the largest active fleets of the Dutch regional jet, with 18 aircraft in service as of March 2024.
The Qantas link fleet also operates a fleet of 9 active Boeing 717-200 aircraft. The oldest active aircraft in the fleet is VH-YQX, a 24-year-old aircraft 717-200 built in November 1998. This aircraft regularly flies between Sydney (SYD), Hobart (HBA) and Canberra (CBR). Qantas have recently accelerated the retirement of their older 717 fleet, with 4 aircraft (VH-YGU, VH-NXG, VH-NXH and VH-NXL) being flown to Victorville (VCV) in the US for retirement. We took a look at the logistics of VH-NXI’s retirement flight on our blog. Click the button below to learn more.
The oldest Turboprop aircraft in service at Qantas is VH-TQG, a 28-year-old Bombardier Dash 8-200 built in January 1996. Based in Sydney (SYD), this aircraft operates daily flights to destinations including Lord Howe Island (LDH), Canberra (CBR) and Moree (MRZ).
The oldest freighter in service at Qantas is VH-XML. This 37-year-old Boeing 737-376SF is a passenger to freighter conversion aircraft (often referred to as ‘PTF’) and was built in September 1986. This aircraft regularly flies domestic sectors between airports including Hobart (HBA), Launceston (LST), and Canberra (CBR).
Have you flown on any of these Qantas aircraft? Let us know in the comments.
Cover photo: Victor Pody, JetPhotos.
![An example full flight summary response from the Flightradar24 API: { "data": [ { "fr24_id": "0987654321", "flight": "SK1415", "callsign": "SAS1415", "operated_as": "SAS", "painted_as": "SAS", "type": "A20N", "reg": "SE-DOY", "orig_icao": "ESSA", "orig_iata": "ARN", "datetime_takeoff": "2023-01-27T05:15:22", "runway_takeoff": "12R", "dest_icao": "EKCH", "dest_iata": "CPH", "dest_icao_actual": "EPWA", "dest_iata_actual": "WAW", "datetime_landed": "2023-01-27T06:15:10", "runway_landed": "27L", "flight_time": 3600, "actual_distance": 1007.74, "circle_distance": 6245, "category": "Passenger", "hex": "4A91F9", "first_seen": "2023-01-27T05:06:22", "last_seen": "2023-01-27T06:18:10", "flight_ended": "true" } ] }](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Flight-summary-API-cover-768x378.jpg)
