For those who like to enjoy the same: Seats 22A or 22F. This particular airplane VH-YQW (Qantas Link in Tasmania special colours, ex-Midwest, ex-Mexicana Click) was only 10 years old at the time of this flight and was already built without eyebrow cockpit windows.\r
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QantasLink is a regional brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is a major competitor to Regional Express Airlines and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. As of September new QantasLink provides 1900 flights each week to 54 domestic and international locations.\r
Prior to 2002, Qantas various subsidiaries operated under separate brands. In 2002 a common brand was created, encompassing AirLink (a franchise, operated at the time by National Jet), Sunstate Airlines, Eastern Australia Airlines, and Southern Australia Airlines.\r
For a short while, QantasLink took over some of Qantas non-trunk routes, such as Sydney - Sunshine Coast, using Boeing 717s that were inherited after Qantas acquired Impulse Airlines. QantasLink ceased operating some of these routes after Qantas formed low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Airways, transferring the Boeing 717 aircraft and routes to the new airline. In 2005/06, eight of the 717s were returned to QantasLink following Jetstars acquisition of Airbus A320 aircraft, to be operated in Western Australia, Northern Territory and far north Queensland by National Jet (now Cobham Aviation Services Australia).\r
On 31 July new Network Aviation was rebranded to Qantas Link. This was announced by Qantas with the unveiling of a Fokker 100 in QantasLink colours.\r
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The Boeing 717 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner, developed for the 100-seat market. The airliner was designed and originally marketed by McDonnell Douglas as the MD-95, a derivative of the DC-9 family. Capable of seating up to 134 passengers, the 717 has a design range of 2,060 nautical miles (3,815 km). It is powered by two Rolls-Royce BR715 turbofan engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage.\r
The first order was placed in October 1995 by ValuJet Airlines (later AirTran Airways); McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged in 1997 prior to production. The airliner entered service in 1999 as the Boeing 717. Production ceased in May 2006 after 156 were built. The MD-95 traces its history back to 1983 when McDonnell Douglas outlined a study named the DC-9-90. During the early 1980s, as production of the DC-9 family moved away from the smaller Series 30 towards the larger Super 80 (later redesignated MD-80) variants, Douglas proposed a smaller version of the DC-9 to fill the gap left by the DC-9-30. Dubbed the DC-9-90, it was revealed in February 1983 and was to be some 25 ft 4 in (7.72 m) shorter than the DC-9-81, giving it an overall length of 122 ft 6 in (37.34 m). The aircraft was proposed with a 17,000 lbf (76 kN) thrust version of the JT8D-200engine, although the CFM56-3 was also considered. Sized to seat up to 117 passengers, the DC-9-90 was to be equipped with the DC-9s wing with 2 ft (0.61 m) tip extensions, rather than the more heavily modified increased area of the MD-80. The aircraft had a design range of around 1,500 nmi (2,800 km), with an option to increase to 2,000 nmi (3,700 km), and a gross weight of 112,000 lb (51,000 kg).\r
The DC-9-90 was designed to meet the needs of the newly deregulated American airline industry. However, its development was postponed due to the recession of the early 1980s. When McDonnell Douglas did develop a smaller version of the MD-80, it simply shrunk the aircraft to create the MD-87, rather than offer a lower thrust, lighter aircraft that was more comparable to the DC-9-30. With its relatively high MTOW and powerful engines, the MD-87 essentially became a special mission aircraft and could not compete with the all new 100-seaters then being developed. Although an excellent aircraft for specialized roles, the MD-87 often was not sold on its own, tending to rely on its commonality for, generally limited sales to existing MD-80 operators. After McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in August 1997, most industry observers expected that Boeing would cancel development of the MD-95. However, Boeing decided to go forward with the design under a new name, Boeing 717. Some believed Boeing had skipped the 717 model designation when the 720 and the 727 followed the 707. The 717 name was the companys model number for the KC-135 Stratotanker. 717 had also been used to promote an early design of the 720 to airlines before it was modified to meet market demands. A Boeing historian notes that the Air Force tanker aircraft had the designation 717-100 and the commercial airliner had the designation 717-200. The lack of a widespread use of the 717 name left it available f