The airline began life as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, which was abbreviated to QANTAS, on — as you may have figured out — November 16, 1920.
Its first aircraft was an Avro 504, a pre-World War I biplane that could seat a pilot and one passenger.
Its kangaroo livery first appeared in 1944 and accompanied the airline during the airline’s expansion throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Amid the pandemic, Qantas operated many of the “relief flights” that brought Australian citizens back from remote corners of the world.
It isn’t only Qantas’ name that has changed over the past century. The airline is credited with inventing business class and, in a non-Covid year, it’s the only carrier that flies to all seven continents.
While big plans for the airline’s centennial were scaled back due to local virus control methods, Qantas did operate a scenic flight over Sydney Harbor to celebrate the big day.
CNN’s Angus Watson contributed reporting.