Qantas has announced the most popular Australian native wildlife names that will feature on its QantasLink Airbus A220 aircraft after the public was invited to help name the new fleet.
More than 6,000 submissions were received with hundreds of different species put forward. Some of the more unusual suggestions which didn’t make the shortlist included blobfish, crucifix toad, drop bear, dusky hopping mouse, earless dragon and gobbleguts.
A shortlist of 40 names was released for public vote last week, with more than 11,700 votes helping lock in the final names.
The winning names include (in no particular order):
- Koala
- little red flying-fox
- Tasmanian devil
- sugar glider
- platypus
- rainbow lorikeet
- crimson rosella
- whale shark
- echidna
- wedge-tailed eagle
Additional names will be revealed as more aircraft are delivered in the coming years.
QantasLink is gradually replacing its Boeing 717s currently operating flights across Australia with next-generation fuel efficient A220 aircraft as part of a broader Qantas Group fleet renewal program. The A220 is capable of flying double the distance of the 717, opening up new domestic and short-haul international route opportunities.
The first QantasLink A220 aircraft is set to arrive in Australia next week. The aircraft, Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa, was unveiled last month with a special Indigenous livery as part of the Qantas Group’s Flying Art Series, and is the one exception to the A220 native animal naming convention.
For more information on Qantas’ history of naming aircraft visit the Qantas Roo Tales blog here.
