Qantas leaving Frankfurt for good

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

Frankfurt and all the non-british Europe has lost an iconic aircraft and airline today.

Qantas, the Australian airline, is just (as I'm writing these words) performing its last flight from Germany's largest airport.

With only London Heathrow left now, continental Europe has lost its last Kangaroo connection.

I have never been to Australia, but have always been a great enthusiast of that country, its nature, history, aviation and Qantas of course.

I have always had a dream to fly QF6 one day and now this dream will have to go to sleep.

As I am also a longtime airplane spotter, I have watched, photographed and listened to Qantas birds flying over southern Poland many times.

I remember night spotting sessions (around 01:30 a.m.) with my friend when we hoped to see QF 744's tail Kangaroo illuminated by logo lights (and we sometimes did).

Tonight I am very sentimantal, so forgive me to add some info and screens.

It has departed Frankfurt's runway 18 with Sulus departure at 22:55 CET.

At around 23:50 CET QF6 has flown over my town.

It got the first (and last ever) DIR like this ever!

It almost always flew 15 nm North of my home on airway UL984.

I do understand Qantas is not in the best financial situaltion and this route was really loss making.

But from my egoistic point of view it was a very romantic and iconic flight I have spotted for more than two decades.

Goodbye, Qantas 6!

[Will269 15]

Sign of times Rafal, Qantas international was in dire need of restructuring as nothing had really been done to keep it competitive against increased traffic from more efficient carriers. We all hope once it rides its hard times it will go back to serving all its former European destinations..

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

Thank you for your words, Will!

I guess I did need them tonight.

We all hope once it rides its hard times it will go back to serving all its former European destinations

Oh, that would be too beautiful for me to even imagine.

I remember spotting three Kangaroos in a row, from: Paris, Frankfurt and London.

Plus, though not in my part of Europe, there were also regular Rome flights.

And Qantas did some charters like Manchester, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Zagreb, etc.

From my home I saw not only the classic Kangaroo livery, but also Wunala Dreaming and the old F1 Grand Prix (two more bygones).

I've never seen Nalanji Dreaming as it seldom flew to Europe, and even if, that was to Rome.

Plus I saw a QF 767-300 on an extra charter flight on December 24 many years ago (never found any info on that flight).

And seemingly it is not only a problem with Qantas, but also Europe-Australia routes profitability.

I personally remember Austrian Airlines (VIE-KUL-SYD) and Olympic (ATH-BKK-SYD) flying to Australia.

And I know from reading that a few more European airlines (e.g. Lufthansa) had their episodes in Oz.

Now there is just Heathrow left with Qantas, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

However I read Jetstar is considering Europe, especially interested in Berlin, when the new BER is opened.

[Will269 15]

Those are some very good shots! I was lucky enough to fly Nalanji from Johannesburg to Sydney via Harare and Perth, was great fun, got to sit in to cockpit for the Johannesburg and Harare takeoffs (this was in 1999). The QANTAS brand lives in its people, and they are doing what they can to turn things around. I recently got in contact with Capt Richard de Crespigny, the pilot in command of QF32 when it blew an engine out of Singapore and nearly crashed. The passion and love for the airline is felt in every word he says, so I guess the future of one of the worlds oldest airlines is still in good hands.

[VARCOLAC5 85]

Its a bit ironic that i saw the last Qantas flight to Frankfurt fly over my house in Sydney yesterday

In the late 1990's to early 2000's nearly all the main european carriers e.g KLM,Alitalia,AOM had regular services and Swissair even had charter services to Sydney and Melbourne but after the 9/11 terrorist attacks they suffered a big drop in passenger numbers and they lost all their profits and they decided to stop flying to Australia.

Just like how you miss Qantas flying to Frankfurt now, I miss all the European Carriers that used to fly to Sydney.

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

got to sit in to cockpit for the Johannesburg and Harare takeoffs (this was in 1999)

(...)I recently got in contact with Capt Richard de Crespigny

All I can say is 'You #$%^@ lucky #%^$!'

i saw the last Qantas flight to Frankfurt fly over my house in Sydney yesterday

So the most incredible thing is we can eye-witness the same airliner within 24-48 hours even though we live almost 16 thousand kilometres from each other!

[Martin Martinov 22]

Part of the Q decision to ditch Frankfurt route might be their recent alliance agreement with Emirates. You wont miss the link. You just have to fly it through Dubai

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

You just have to fly it through Dubai

Sure, but you won't board the Seven Kangaroo Seven at 10 pm in Frankfurt anymore.

[Badfinger 62]

Sign of the times Rafal. Air New Zealand use to have regular 747 flights into EDDF NZ18 & NZ19, but were handed over to Lufthansa as a code share under the Star Alliance.

ANZ still have 2 daily flights into Heathrow, but one (Via Hong Kong) is about to be canned, if not already.

Cheers

Julian

[iFlySimX 148]

Do they Still fly to Paris??

[Gronk 271]

No Clément, they unfortunately don't anymore.
I must admit I'm getting quiet sentimental about this too guys.

Seeing these pics, especially "Wunala", is bringing back so many dear memories from back in the days.

I will certainly miss the roo here in Frankfurt! See ya Qantas!

[Anthony99 49]

Qantas is an AMAZING airline. My dad works for them. When they connect with Emirates they we're stopping that route. Now they're getting rid of some 747's. Check this link out. It tells you stuff about Qantas http://www.theqantassource.com/. they're thinking of stopping the route from melbourne to London. Nice shots of those 747's. The Wunala Dreaming was repainted to the new livery. not sure if F1 has left the fleet. Im not sure. The Nalanji was the last 747-300 to leave the Qantas fleet, it left 3-4 years. It then went to Avalon airport and just stayed there for couple of years. Now the 767 with rolls royce engines are going now. 2 have left the fleet. Qantas is the best airline i personally believe.

[Rafal Haczek 1612]

not sure if F1 has left the fleet

The one you can see in the photo is the old 'Formula 1 Melbourne' registered VH-OJC, not the latest F1 with VH-OEB, which is still flying with the Grand Prix livery.

The HV-OJC has now been wearing the standard livery for good 10 years.

[Anthony99 49]

The one you can see in the photo is the old 'Formula 1 Melbourne' registered VH-OJC, not the latest F1 with VH-OEB, which is still flying with the Grand Prix livery.

The HV-OJC has now been wearing the standard livery for good 10 years.

Sorry i get mixed up with the both. I havent seen OJC that much around on flight radar. OEB yes is still in the prix livery.

[VARCOLAC5 85]

I once saw a Iberia 747-200 charter flight to YSSY many years ago too and i have never gotten any info from that flight either.

As this photo shows Nalanji Dreaming has visited Frankfurt Au Main at least once.

Now the only Qantas aircraft left that still has a native Australian livery is Yananyi Dreaming which is a 737-800

[VARCOLAC5 85]

All I can say is 'You #$%^@ lucky #%^$!'

So the most incredible thing is we can eye-witness the same airliner within 24-48 hours even though we live almost 16 thousand kilometres from each other!

Its amazing how things like this happen!

[Spud 27]

I feel sorry for you guys who love the Qantas planes and can't enjoy seeing them anymore. Here in Perth, I see them daily and quite often go to the new public viewing area at Perth International Airport.

http://www.roamingdownunder.com/perth-airport.php

Some years back, my wife and myself had the privilege of boarding the Qantas 747 wingtip on its first flight from Perth to Singapore. I must say we felt like guinea pigs It was an enjoyable flight.

[Ruhrpilot07 15]

Well. I can show you those days when LH offered flights to down under, thanks to our great experienced photographers...

But why is LH no longer in Australia, and why is QF no longer in Germany? The reason is not Dubai. By far the cheapest flight that I've found a few seconds ago is this one:

FRA >> SYD with 2 stops, 28std35min, for 908 Euros, return flights included!

German news TV some days ago showed a topic "haircutters (in Germany) work for less than a McD meal". I don't support this behaviour. Long Haul is Long Haul, and imho it's the same between Vancouver and Sydney, this is at least a 1000,- Euro flight (return included), if we speak of Economy for almost one whole day (24 hours) on board...

And if you even know the difference between Vancouver (4500 nmi) and SYD (8900 nmi), then you'll have to confess that SYD is rather worth 2000,- (still economy).

But why is QF no longer in Germany... there are passengers who rather ruin their health (or can you tell me where you can sleep on a 29 hours trip with 2 times changin the aircraft), than paying 100 euros more for a 1stop flight, return included...

Since 1985, I've never understood QF as an airline without service. So, this is the result of "Geiz ist geil"...

PS: I wonder how British Air is still able to compete with these third world fares (presumably the GB government gives subvention)!

In Germany, the situation is completely different, cp "Luftverkehrsabgabe".

I.e., good destinations are left for the competitors, and this is within full awareness of the German government.