Jetstar’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VH-VKA) sits at Paine Field earlier today. Photo by Bernie Leighton.

Last weekend, the first of 14 Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the Qantas Group rolled out of the paint hangar at Paine Field.  This aircraft will be heading to Jetstar Airways, a Qantas-offshoot low cost carrier (LCC). The delivery will be significant, since as of now Jetstar operates an all-Airbus fleet.

Jetstar currently operates the A320-family on short-haul routes around Australia, the South Pacific, and Asia, while running larger A330-200s on long-haul routes from Australia to Asia & Hawaii. The A330s are a mix of new aircraft and ex-Qantas birds. As the airline receives new 787s, they plan to transition their newer A330s into the legacy Qantas fleet.

Despite this being the first for Jetstar, Boeing has delivered over 100 aircraft to the Qantas Group, ranging from the original 707 up to the 747-400ER (of which they are the only operator of the passenger variant).