Taking to the skies 66 years ago, the Boeing 707 was an American long-range narrowbody aircraft developed from the Boeing 367-80. The first variant, the 707-120, took flight on December 20th, 1957, before entering scheduled services with Pan Am in October 1958. Various versions were produced for the following two decades before ceasing manufacturing in 1978.
Often credited to the beginning of the jet age, the 707 was not the world's first commercial jetliner (that goes to the de Havilland Comet).
Photo: Wal Nelowkin | Wikimedia Commons
Down under, Qantas was delivered its first 707 in 1959, creating headlines for being the first non-United States customer to receive the aircraft. On delivery, flying times to some of the airline's most popular destinations were halved.
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London to Sydney
On July 31st, the airline introduced its Boeing 707 fleet on long-haul routes across the world; unsurprisingly, one of them was between the UK and Australia, operating in London. This trip would take 30 hours, while advertised it would save an additional 25 than before.
New air pathways were launched with the aircraft in the 60s, such as the exotic 'Fiesta Rou,'' which saw the airline travel from Australia to London via Fiji, Tahiti, Mexico (Acapulco and Mexico City), The Bahamas, and Bermuda. By this decade, migration to Oceania saw more migrants arriving to the penal colony by air than historically by sea. With the variant breaking down barriers for Qantas, jet services were introduced for trans-Pacific routes, becoming the first jet passenger services across the almighty Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Carlos Ponte | Wikimedia Commons
By 1961, the carrier deployed its 'V-Jet' aircraft, the 707-138 explicitly designed for Qantas, with turbofan engines, toward Tokyo and Hong Kong before taking delivery of the 727 in 1964 and, more interestingly, the 707-338C. The more extended range 707 allowed the red-tailed carrier to launch its first non-stop services between the East Coast of Australia and the United States.
VH-EBH was the first turbofan variant delivered to Qantas in Sydney on August 6th, 1961. By 1964, the airline had launched even more international routes with the aircraft, opening the route from London via Athens or Istanbul, Tehran, and New Delhi to Hong Kong. By the end of the 1960s, the carrier proudly claimed the title of a global aircraft, serving several destinations across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
While the 707 was quickly overtaken by the advancements of the Boeing 747 in the 1970s, the 707 will always hold a place in history as a significant part of the Qantas legacy and the foundation of many of its international operations.
A 707 just for Qantas
The Boeing 707-138, a subset of the Boeing 707-120 family, was 128 feet long rather than the standard 138 feet, a shortened version of their 707 that provided increased range. These Boeing 707s destined for QEA were known as 707-138 models, as Qantas' customer number was '38'.
Qantas would become the fifth 707 customer (after Pan American Airways, TWA, Air France, Sabena, and Lufthansa). In 1959, QEA was the first airline outside the United States to fly the Boeing 707. After that initial delivery, four more were delivered in 1961 and two in 1964. Between 1965 and 1969, the 707-138s were gradually retired to make way for the larger 707-338Cs. The most famous is likely John Travolta's 707-138, recently donated to the HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) Aviation Museum in Shellharbour Airport, New South Wales.
Did you know that once Qantas retired its final 707, the carrier became an all-747 airline until the 767 arrived?
Number of 707's operated by Qantas
According to Aussie Airlines, QF historically operated the below fleet of 707's:
Variant | Number in service |
|---|---|
707-338C | 21 |
707-138 | Seven |
707-138B | Six |
The desire for the aircraft peaked in 1967 with 118 orders globally, surpassing the 83 orders the year prior. However, demand for the variant subsided rapidly in 1969, dropping to 59 orders, then 19, 10, and four in subsequent years. A total of 1,010 examples of the 707 were produced before deliveries stopped in 1994.
An identifying feature from Boeing was the decision to use its customer codes in various options, which has since been continued. This code is the customer number, such as Qantas '38', which can be seen in variants 707-1(38).
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A long list of operators
Only one commercial operator continues to use the 707 today, which is Omega Aerial Refueling Services based in San Antonio, Texas. The company has two Boeing KC-707-338C (registrations N707MQ & N707GF) inherited from the Royal Australian Air Force in October 2011. This company provides aerial refueling services specifically for military operations.
Photo: Kobel | Wikimedia Commons
For scheduled passenger services, the chances of boarding a 707 is a thing of the past. Here is a list of various airlines that operate the aircraft (note this is NOT an extensive list):
Region | Operators |
|---|---|
Africa | Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Zimbabwe |
Americas | Aerolineas Argentinas, Quebecair, Transair, LAN Chile, Surinam Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Pan American World Airways, avianca |
Asia | Cathay Pacific, Garuda Indonesia, El Al, Royal Jordanian, Air China, Saudia, Air India |
Europe | Sabena, Conair, Air France, Luxair, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Air Yugoslavia, Deutsche Lufthansa |
Oceania | Qantas, Air Niugini |
