Qantas celebrates 100-year history with every logo used since 1920 inception

Qantas has kicked off 100th birthday celebrations early, with a new livery on its tenth Dreamliner.

Qantas has unveiled its newest Boeing 787-9 featuring a special livery to mark the airline's 100th birthday next year. Picture: Supplied.

Qantas has kicked off 100th birthday celebrations early, with a new livery on its tenth Dreamliner featuring every logo used by the airline since it began in 1920.

The livery was unveiled at the Boeing factory in Seattle yesterday, ahead of a series of delivery test flights for the 787-9.

Registered VH-ZNJ, the aircraft has been named “Longreach” in a nod to the Queensland town integral to Qantas’s origins, its role in conquering the tyranny of distance and the Longreach series of retiring 747-400 jets.

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Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the livery was “a reminder of the airline’s past on its newest piece of technology”.

“The story of Qantas is the story of modern Australia, and the logos on this livery tell that story from the beginning,” Mr Joyce said.

“Our centenary celebrations are all about honouring our past with an eye on the future, so it’s very fitting that this special livery will be worn by our newest state-of-the-art Dreamliner.”

The logos reveal how the carrier came to be known as the Flying Kangaroo, with the “penny roo” first used by the airline in 1944 on flights across the Indian Ocean known as the Kangaroo Service.

Three years later, wings were added to the kangaroo as it hopped across the globe on the famous kangaroo route to London. In 1968, the logo was further refined to designate the start of the sleek and sophisticated jet age.

Just two more updates were made to the logo since then, with the most recent version in 2016 controversially doing away with the Flying Kangaroo’s arms.

Mr Joyce said Qantas, which stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, began as a mail delivery service in the outback where it even assembled its own aircraft.

The airline now flies non-stop from Australia to Europe, and has evolved from carrying two passengers at a time to 50 million a year.

VH-ZNJ will undertake Qantas’s second Project Sunrise test flight next month, flying non-stop from London to Sydney with about 40 people on board.

Another Boeing 787-9 will operate the airline’s first ultra-long haul test flight this weekend, becoming the first commercial passenger jet to travel non-stop from New York to Sydney.

Scientists and medical researchers will travel with pilots and crew to assess their mental and physical health throughout the 19-hour trip.

The data will be used to help configure rosters and establish the best times for meals and rest breaks on the marathon flights.

The biggest hurdle may still be ahead for Qantas though with negotiations for a new enterprise agreement with pilots striking turbulence.

Mr Joyce has set the end of the year as the deadline for a new deal but the Australian and International Pilots Association has indicated that will be difficult to meet, given an aircraft type has not even been decided for the flights.

Pilots are adamant they will not make further concessions to Qantas to operate the ultra-long haul routes despite the promise of more command positions and opportunities for promotion.