QANTASLink operated by Alliance Airlines Embraer 190

[David Tweddle]

Morning all,

I fly quite frequently in Australia and two weeks ago I flew from Darwin to Brisbane on one of Alliance Airlines Embraer 190's (VH-UYO). It was a QF flight (QF1917) 1325hrs departure (albeit QF Link) but an Alliance liveried aircraft. Crew are in QF uniform and its a full QF service onboard. First four rows are business (1+2), row 5 (which I had 5A) has to be the best economy seat. Loads of leg room, no wall in front of you (apart from a curtain) and a table in armrest. 5B is a different matter, as the aisle from the 1+2 goes into a 2+2 so 5B leg room is on an angle (so your legs if straight are facing into the aisle). Full meal service onboard, and a full bar service with unlimited soft and alcoholic drinks. I've flown a few times on the E190's on a QF flight number and this is the first time i've had a full service, so Alliance are getting the game together finally. Crew advised me that if there are 70 pax and less they only have two flight attendants, if full flight, they have three onboard. All in all a cracking service and would recommend instead of a 737-800 service.

[LH-B744]

Hm. I probably have an idea of what Qantas International is all about at least since I am a jetphotos member.

For me, Qantas Intl has always been and will always be the 'Wunala Dreaming', one QF-B744ER, reg VH-OEJ. If you write this reg into the search window of the jetphotos database,
you'll see 924 results (!), and among them imho 10 or 20 of the most beautiful pictures within the database:

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/9593614
Wunala Dreaming in the year 2011, at VHHH ('the new one', since 1998_).

What I didn't know until today, the OEJ was not only Wunala, but after she'd come back to the average Qantas Intl livery, the OEJ was also the last
and until today she is the very last QF Boeing 747 of all Qantas 747s who have been in the air since 1971.

The last flight of VH-OEJ was on July 22nd, 2020.

So, a little bit more OEJ for all of us, if you like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QS5CK3kKQE
(also valid because of the tailfin in minute 8:52, with airports who I like to identify soon ...)

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/9470139
The OEJ B744ER previously known as Wunala, on her home airport, September 2019.

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/9183044
The OEJ B744ER previously known as Wunala, by night, already back to 'everyday Qantas livery' in 2018, en route on Tokyo Haneda.

So, the Wunala livery was only.. between 2010 and 2018 (?).

Hm. And I know a picture where two Qantas 747s had a parallel flight (or at least some sort of), a formation flight, where from the upper QF 747 there had been taken a picture of the lower QF 747.
Either I had a dream and this brilliant picture is not in the database, or I've only not yet found it..

[LH-B744]

... This is a 28 minute video, and definitely not only for people from Australia (mentioned above in my #2).

You can come with me through the video and try to name what you see, after 14 seconds: unknown 747 (orange tailfin 'Expo 1986' at Vancouver, but the airline?),
then American Airlines 747, a KLM-B742, Air Canada 747 at Montreal, Delta Airlines 747, Pan Am 747 in moving pictures, TWA 747 in moving pictures, Air India 747 in moving pictures,
Scandinavian SAS 747 in moving pictures (!),
and all that was only the prologue, all that before 2 minutes of the video have happened.

Then the music comes in, classic 1976 long haul airport music if you ask me.

And then we learn something from the video, which since 2008 I had assumed, but the director of that video now confirms that.
Also the sister ship of the OEJ B744ER, the OJB B744, was a 'Wunala', with these worldwide unique colors.

Wunala means kangaroo. That seems to fit very well, on a jet with such a tailfin...

I just wonder if today (May 2023) there again is such an icon for Australia in the air, compared to the Wunala B744ER .

'Do us a favor, pls can you really stop at the 'stop for aircraft' sign with your 10ft vehicule, you have traffic from the left...'
Absolutely fantastic, I very much love it.

What a video...