Qantas began on 16/Nov/1920 as "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited". It quickly became known simply as 'Qantas', and then soon adopted that name formally. It was nationalised in 1947, and remained so until 1995, when it was privatised.
Qantas' longtime competitor Ansett, collapsed in 2001, leading to a near monopoly on domestic routes. Since VirginBlue entered the market in 2000, Qantas has responded by creating the low-budget airline Jetstar. The company hopes this will restrict VirginBlue's growth, and allow it to remain the dominant airline in Australia. Qantas remains one of the few profitable full-service airlines world-wide.
Qantas airline owns and operates a range of aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, as well as the Dash 8 and BAe 146. The actor John Travolta owns an ex-Qantas Boeing 707, and has appeared at PR functions for the airline.