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A former QantasLink Boeing 717-200 has been sighted in the Victorville boneyard after its retirement from the fleet.
VH-YQX (pictured) was photographed by a friend of Australian Aviation contributor Rob Finlayson with the majority of its QantasLink branding removed, having arrived in Victorville on 11 April.
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The 24-year-old aircraft originally flew for defunct Greek carrier Olympic Airlines before moving to Spanish airline Spanair, then Finnish airline Blue1. It came to Australia with Cobham in 2016 before being transferred to QantasLink operator National Jet Systems in 2020, where it spent the last four years of its operational life.
VH-YQX’s final commercial flight was QF1501 from Sydney to Canberra on 31 March this year, after which it left Australia bound for the boneyard on 9 April.
QantasLink currently has eight 717-200s remaining in its fleet, of which the oldest, VH-YQY, is 24 years and the newest, VH-YQW, is 18 years old. The airline is gradually phasing out its 717s as it moves to 29 new Airbus A220-300s, having received two so far.
The A220-300s have 25 per cent more seats – 137, compared to 110 on the 717 – as well as twice the range and 28 per cent lower fuel burn per seat. The first, VH-X4A, arrived in December last year.
Speaking to reporters at a media event last May, then-QantasLink CEO John Gissing described the retirement of the 717 as “bittersweet”.
“It’s an amazing aeroplane. It’s been the backbone of the regional operation for some time,” he said. “But today is about renewal, and the A220 is also an amazing aeroplane. Like the 717, it is a game changer for the regional jet operation.
“The range is twice the range of the 717. It’s new technology, super-quiet cabin, high-bypass geared turbofan engine, an amazing cabin amenity that customers are going to love. It will be able to connect markets that we can’t at the moment with that size of aircraft.”
At the same event, then-Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said at least some of the 717s were being sold to an unnamed North American carrier.
“What’s great is that we’re able to sell these aircraft for value,” he said. “They’re not worth nothing, they are worth some money and they’re being sold.
“It’s great that Qantas’ aircraft, with how well they’re maintained and how well they’re operated, seem to actually have alternative use for people around the globe.”
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says:The Douglas DC 9 and it’s evolution the B717 served as Australis mainline regional jetliner for decades. As a resident of North Queensland, without the DC 9 / B717 we would have been isolated in times of normal wet seasons which resulted in road and rail closures for extended times. Many fond memories of these iconic Aircraft. Qantas is an extremely profitable enterprise and must consider retaining one of these aircraft for display alongside their other historic aircraft at Longreach.