Qantas have ordered 29 Airbus A220s to replace their outgoing Boeing 717 fleet. As is traditional, the airline will be naming each one and they have turned to the public for suggestions.
The Australian airline has been christening their planes with individual names for almost a century. It is no surprise that the brand new jets will also get their own ones.
Naming Qantas Aircraft
Back in 1926, de Havilland was the manufacturer of choice for the Aussie airline. The first planes delivered by them were named after figures from Greek mythology, namely Iris, Perseus, Pegasus, Atalanta, Hermes, and Hippomenes.
Since then, planes have been named after places, stars, explorers, aviation people, inspirational words and even various themes. For many years the airline got a bit boring and all deliveries received the name of an Australian city.
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- You can’t choose Quokka though, as it’s already the name of a 787!
That all changed when the Airbus A380s arrived, which are named after Australian aviation pioneers. Following that, the Boeing 787 Dreamliners were named after Australiana, which makes it a little more fun.
The Airbus A220s will be named after Australia’s native wildlife and people are requested to submit their choices via the webform on the Qantas website. You can submit up to six suggestions. Off you go!
Overall Thoughts
Airlines have been naming their aircraft for a long time, and it’s nice to see Qantas keep up with the tradition. Whether it’s the Saints of Aer Lingus, the Clippers of Pan American or the Empresses of CP Air, it all adds a little colour to aviation.
Qantas is due to get Airbus A350s for their Project Sunrise services from 2025. I’ll be very curious to see what theme they choose for the ultra long-haul jets. What do you think they’ll go for?
Are you planning to submit some names for the A220s? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Airbus.
Quokka via Australia.com on Facebook.
