Qantas meaning: What does Qantas stand for?

Australia’s major airline is Qantas, not Quantas. But what does Qantas stand for? Well, its an acronym – Qantas means Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services.

Qantas has a proud history of being one of the world’s oldest and safest airlines. But that doesn’t stop people spelling it incorrectly. Australia’s major airline is often spelled “Quantas” by people applying the U after Q rule. That’s not right, of course – it’s Qantas. But that isn’t half a strange name, and it’s no wonder people get it wrong.

It might be reasonable to assume that the name Qantas comes from one of the many Indigenous Australian languages, but that’s not the case. The reason it’s Qantas, not Quantas, is that Qantas is an acronym.

What does Qantas stand for: The acronym

So, what does Qantas mean? Well, officially, nothing. Qantas is the name of the company. But when it was founded way back in 1920, the company was called Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd.

qantas plane — Qantas is one of the world’s most respected airlines. But it came from humble beginnings in outback Queensland.

Over time, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd seemed a bit unwieldy, so the acronym was used instead. Qantas stands for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, but the airline name doesn’t have any deeper meaning than that.

Meaning of Qantas: Airline history

The company was founded in Winton, Queensland, with two planes. In 1921, it shifted base to Longreach. The hangar built to house the planes still exists, and in the early years, Qantas did scenic flights and charters. Its first scheduled passenger and mail flights took off in November 1922, from Charleville to Cloncurry. And its first international flight was from Brisbane to Singapore in 1935.

The history of Qantas is covered in reasonable depth on the airline’s website. But if you really want to know more, you can visit the Qantas Founders Museum. That’s in Longreach, and the star attraction is the original, heritage-listed Qantas hangar.