Qantas retires B717

An end of an era is how Qantas is describing the retirement of its Boeing B717s. On 26 October 2024, the airline conducted its final commercial flight with the type. The final flight was operated by B717-200 VH-YQS (55179), which flew as QF1511 from Sydney to Canberra.

The B717s were operated by Qantas' subsidiary National Jet Systems under the QantasLink-brand and this month it had only three left in service. Over the years, the Qantas Group has operated 23 different B717s. The aircraft are being replaced by the Airbus A220-300, of which the airline currently has four in service.

With the retirement of the type in Australia, only two airlines are left operating the B717. Delta Air Lines has a fleet of 88 B717s, of which sixteen are parked. Hawaiian Airlines is flying with nineteen of them, of which three are parked.

Photo by Qantas.