Qantas Freight is the subsidiary company of Australia's largest airline

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

responsible for air cargo operations of the Qantas Group. It is the owner of freight airline Express Freighters Australia, freight forwarder Qantas Courier and trucking company Jets Transport Express. Qantas Freight was also a partner in two

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

s with

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...

: Australian airExpress, specialising in door-to-door package delivery, and StarTrack, a road freight company.Qantas subsidiaries page.
Retrieved: 20 April 2012 In November 2012, Qantas Freight fully acquired Australia air Express and divested its shareholding in Star Track to Australia Post. Qantas Freight was also the owner of Asian-based freight forwarder DPEXWorldwide until that company was acquired by its competitor Toll Holdings in 2010.Toll Group announces Asian acquisition and provides trading update
Toll Holdings 21 February 2011 Qantas Freight is also responsible for placing freight in the hold of

and

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, doing business as, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the ...

operated international and domestic services.

Destinations

As of October 2024, Qantas Freight directly serves 50 international and 80 domestic destinations. Qantas Freight has the ability to reach 480 global destinations through its airline partners, including Emirates, which it signed a cargo cooperation agreement with in 2024.

Fleet

As of November 2024, Qantas Freight subsidiary Express Freighters Australia operates the following aircraft: As of November 2024, Qantas Freight wet-leases 14 aircraft that operate both domestic and international services on behalf of the airline, these include: * Aerlink - 1 ATR 72-200F (VH-AK3) * Airwork - 2 Boeing 737-400F * ASL Australia (Pionair) - 3 BAe 146-200 (QT) & 2 BAe 146-300 (QT) *

Atlas Air Atlas Air, Inc. is a major American cargo airline, charter airline, passenger charter airline, and Aircraft lease, aircraft lessor based in White Plains, New York. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. Atlas Air is t ...

- 2 Boeing 747-400F *

National Jet Express National Jet Express (formerly ''Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Regional Services'') is an Australian charter airline and aviation services provider with its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia. History National Jet Express was est ...

- 3 BAe 146-300 (QT)

Fleet Development

In June 2016, the 737-400F, two of the 737-300Fs and three BAe 146s were rebranded and are operated as a dedicated fleet for

and StarTrack. In April 2019, Qantas Freight announced it would wet-lease two

Boeing 747-8F aircraft to replace the two current wet-leased 747-400F aircraft. The first aircraft landed in Sydney on 27 August with small Qantas Freight decals applied (visible when the forward nose cargo door is open), with the second due later in the week. In August 2019, Qantas Freight announced a deal with Australia Post which was worth $1.4 billion. Included in the deal was Qantas Freight's announcement of the purchase of the world's first A321P2F, of which they ordered 3 to be delivered from October 2020. In December 2019, ASL Airlines Australia (formally Pionair) put the first BAe 146 into service on a wet-lease for Qantas Freight since then this has steadily increased to have all 5 of ASL's BAe 146 aircraft operating for Qantas. In February 2023, Qantas announced that 3 additional A321P2F would be ordered for delivery in 2024 and 2025. In May 2024, Aerlink quietly announced that they would operate a wet-leased ATR 72-200F, VH-AK3, for Qantas Freight in Queensland, between Brisbane, Mackay and Rockhampton, with the service beginning in late June 2024.

Former fleet

Price-fixing case

Legal action was brought in the United States against a number of airlines' freight operations over allegations of

price fixing Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...

between 2000 and 2006, including Qantas Freight. Following the imposition of a fine of US$300 million on

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

, in November 2007, Qantas Freight agreed to plead guilty in a US court and was fined US$61 million. In a separate development the former head of Qantas Freight in the United States was sentenced to eight months imprisonment in May 2008.Rochfort, Scott
"Jail for former Qantas boss in cargo price-fixing cartel"
''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' 10 May 2008. Retrieved: 15 November 2008. The

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Tra ...

also launched legal action in Australia, and in October 2008, Qantas' management agreed to settle the case with a fine of A$20 million. Qantas is also facing a number of class action lawsuits."Qantas fined $20m for price fixing"

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

, 28 October 2008. Retrieved: 15 November 2008.

References

External links

Official website
{{Qantas Group Airlines established in 2001 Australian companies established in 2001 Cargo airlines of Australia Companies based in Sydney

Freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...