Qantas to unveil Retro Roo II in November

Qantas says it will add a second retro-jet to its fleet in November when it unveils another Boeing 737-800 in one of the airline’s historic liveries as part of its 95-year anniversary celebrations.

The airline hopes the second ‘Retro Roo’, which will feature one of Qantas’s 12 historic liveries since 1920, will spark a “fresh wave of Australian aviation nostalgia”.

Qantas’s first retro-jet, VH-XZP, arrived factory fresh from the Boeing factory in Seattle in November 2014 featuring the iconic ochre colour scheme from the 1970s and 1980s and has proven to be a popular feature among travellers and aviation enthusiasts alike.

“We are very excited to be announcing the commissioning of Retro Roo II following the phenomenal response we received from the community and our people when we introduced the first Retro Roo with its classic 1970s iconic last November,” Qantas group executive for brand, marketing and corporate affairs Olivia Wirth said in a statement on Monday.

“You can see from what’s posted on social media that people enjoy taking photos of Retro Roo I as it travels to airports around Australia. Crew tell us it’s always a talking point when it pulls up to the gate and people get on board, though they’re generally pleased that it’s not 1974 on in the inside as well.”

Qantas used VH-XZP for its return to the Perth-Singapore service in June, and had the aircraft ondisplay at February’s Avalon Airshow.

The company said ‘Retro Roo II’, which will come from one of Qantas’s 67 Boeing 737-800s, would be repainted in Townsville over a 14-day period before the new livery was unveiled at a staff event to be held at its Sydney jet base hangar on November 16.

The original Retro Roo. (Victor Pody)

Could Retro Roo II hark back to the propliner era? (Qantas)