Qantas plane out of ‘aircraft boneyard’ after three years

A Qantas plane has been hiding in an ‘aircraft boneyard’ in California for the past three years – but it’s finally out and back in Australia.

It has been a long time coming, but Qantas has finally pulled out one of its aircraft from a storage facility in California after spending three years at the site.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has been in hiding in the Victorville storage facility, also referred to as an ‘aircraft boneyard’, since 2020 after its deliveries were deferred as part of the Qantas Covid recovery plan.

It then experienced further delays getting back in the air due to manufacturing supply chain issues.

Qantas’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is out of a storage facility in California and back in Australia. Picture: Qantas

But as of this week, the aircraft named Billabong came out of hiding – making it the first new 787 to join the national carrier fleet since before the pandemic.

It departed Seattle on Saturday evening and arrived in Melbourne around 9am on Monday, May 1.

But before it hits the skies, engineers will need about five days to put on the “finishing touches”, including installing footrests, bassinets, software for in-flight entertainment and safety features such as connecting an on-board defibrillator and physician’s kit.

It has been in the aircraft boneyard in California since 2020. Picture: Qantas

“There’s nothing quite like getting a new aircraft to work on, where everything from the seats to the engines are brand new,” Qantas Boeing fleet manager John Hirs told news.com.au.

“Getting new aircraft ready to fly our customers for the first time is a labour of love for our engineers.”

It will also be used to conduct fatigue testing on crew as part of Project Sunrise, which is a plan for non-stop flights between Australia and London as well as New York.

It brings the number of planes in the airline’s Dreamliner fleet to 12, with two more new 787s due to arrive in the next few months.

The plane is currently in Melbourne where it will undergo a series of pre-service checks and modifications before entering commercial service. Picture: Qantas

Things such as baby bassinets, footrests, as well as the iconic kangaroo in the business cabin will be added. Picture: Qantas

The other two have also been in storage in the Victorville aircraft boneyard since 2020.

Qantas said the new Dreamliners will allow the airline to add more flights to its international network, including the resumption of flights between Sydney and San Francisco in May and the launch of a new Auckland-New York route in June.

Qantas also uses the 787 on flights to London (via Perth), and to Los Angeles, Dallas, Vancouver, Johannesburg, Santiago, seasonally to Rome and some flights to Singapore.

It becomes the first new 787 to join the national carrier’s fleet since before the pandemic. Picture: Qantas

The ‘finishing touches’ will take about five days – and then it will be ready for commercial use. Picture: Qantas

Meanwhile, the arrival of the new Dreamliner begins a new period of renewal for the Qantas Group, with the first of its 140-seat narrowbody Airbus A220 aircraft expected to arrive at the end of the year.

Qantas Group will receive on average one new aircraft every three weeks over the next three years with Jetstar also getting six new A321NEO-LRs.

This will add a total of 18 to its fleet by the middle of next year.

It comes as Qantas announced Vanessa Hudson will take over from long-serving CEO Alan Joyce upon his retirement later this year.

In a statement, Mr Joyce said: “It’s a logical time for me to step down.”

Ms Hudson, who is currently the group’s chief financial officer, will continue in her current role while also being Qantas CEO designate and joining the Board.

She will be the airline group’s first female CEO in its 103-year history following the airline’s 2023 annual general meeting.