Western Queensland is where Qantas was born and now the international airline has flown to its rescue, raising over $114,000 for drought relief.
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A one-off charity flight from Sydney to the Qantas Founders Outback Museum at Longreach recently by the airline’s so-called Retro Roo 1970s-themed aircraft brought passengers from all over the east coast to Longreach to show their support.
Passengers paid $737 each for a seat on the service and bid for a number of auction items, with all proceeds from both the flight itself and the in-flight auction going directly to the Western Queensland Drought Appeal.
They also got into the ‘70s spirit with retro outfits, a special Neil Perry-designed menu and cocktails, and entertainment from some musical icons of the era.
Leo Sayer provided the pre-flight entertainment in the Qantas Business Lounge, while Glenn Shorrock belted out Little River Band classics at the Qantas Founders Museum.
The initiative comes in the lead up to Qantas’ 95th birthday this month and was aimed at supporting the community that gave wings to Qantas almost a century ago.
QantasLink CEO John Gissing said the national carrier was proud to lend its support to a region it first called home in the 1920s.
“Qantas’ roots in Longreach are deeper than in any other part of Australia – and there has never been a more important time for us to give back to this wonderful community,” Mr Gissing said.
“We know these are difficult times for Longreach and we’re committed to playing our part to help both through this charity flight and through ongoing support for the local tourism industry.”
Qantas Founders Museum CEO Tony Martin said that unlike rain, tourists returned every year and had been sustaining drought-affected towns in a big way this year.
“They are accessing our butcher and our baker, and getting fuel and everything else,” he said.
Many of those on the flight were aviation nuts and excited to finally see the birthplace of Qantas. They included doctors Henry Woo and Imogen Patterson, who said they hadn’t made the connection between Qantas and the Royal Flying Doctor Service before their tour of the museum.
“It demonstrates the airline has always had a strong connection to social responsibility,” Henry said.
Western Queensland Drought Appeal chairman David Phelps said that with the kind efforts of groups such as Qantas, over $300,000 had been raised to assist the region.
“Qantas has shown they are still very much a part of the outback communities where Qantas began, by generously raising money to help graziers battling drought,” he said.
“We are very thankful for this donation to our cause, and for Qantas’ ongoing support of tourism and essential air travel in western Queensland.
“We hope we’ve shown it’s not all doom and gloom out here – we have tourism and we have people helping each other out.”
The Retro Roo charity flight was made possible by Caltex and Air BP who donated fuel, Sydney and Longreach Airports who waived landing fees, and Qantas cabin and flight crew who donated their time to operate the flight.
