The first A220-300 for QantasLink has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Mirabel, Canada, sporting a striking indigenous livery.
Indigenous Australian design agency Balarinj worked with Qantas to design artwork for all of the Flying Art Series liveries. This livery makes the new A220 the sixth aircraft to join the series.
The aircraft features the artwork of senior Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker and is named Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa after the design. One of Australia’s most celebrated artists, Maringka is credited with inspiring a whole new generation of First Nation artists in the wider community.
It also marks the first time any Qantas aircraft has displayed a special Indigenous livery. The paint job was completed by 100 painters using over 130 design stencils to paint over 20,000 dots on the fuselage.
Growing the fleet
The A220 aircraft is the first of 29 A220s to be delivered to Qantas Group as part of its domestic fleet renewal and growth programme, which was finalised at the 2023 Paris Airshow.
The new A220s will replace QantasLink’s Boeing 717 fleet, which currently operates flights across Australia. The A220 offers double the range of the 717 and is expected to allow the airline to offer up more short- and medium-haul routes.
This will be the twelfth new aircraft delivered to the Group in 12 months. More deliveries are expected in the next twelve months, including the first A321XLR for Qantas’s domestic fleet.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson has lauded QantasLink’s A220s as a game changer for domestic and regional travel.
“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,” said Hudson.
“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.”
