New transport era on Lord Howe Island as Qantas touches down for final time
On remote Lord Howe Island, historical eras have been largely defined not by leaders or monarchs but modes of transport, which provide a critical connection to mainland Australia.
The island's transport eras have spanned from 1834 when the first island settlers used whaling boats, to the romanticised post-World War II flying boat era, through to the past three decades when Qantas has served the island community.
"The history of an extremely isolated place like Lord Howe Island, 586 kilometres from the closest point on the Australian coast, is always defined by transport and communication," Lord Howe Island resident and historian Chris Murray said.
"How one gets on and off that isolated place."
Recently the final Qantas-branded and crewed plane touched down on Lord Howe Island's tiny airstrip.
It marks an emotional end of an era for island residents and a crowd gathered under rainy skies to wave goodbye to the final flight.
"There were lots of tears," Lord Howe resident Bronwyn Tofaeono said.
Qantas has held the route licence since 1991, but is phasing out its Dash-8 Q200 series, the only aircraft in its fleet able to operate on Lord Howe Island's very short runway.
Regional carrier, north Queensland-based Skytrans is now transitioning in to take over the route and rebranding the planes.
Ms Tofaeono said, over the decades, their community connection to the airline and the route's regular pilots and crew had developed into something that went far beyond just transport.
"The Qantas Dash 8 has become more than just a plane to us," she said.
"It brought our newborn babies home, carried our children to and from boarding school, and connected us with the world beyond our shores.
"After my father passed away, I will never forget the moment we brought him home — the Qantas crew stood quietly on the tarmac as his coffin was unloaded.
"It was an act of profound respect that I will carry with me forever."
Mr Murray managed ground operations at Lord Howe for Qantas for nearly three decades, from 1991 to 2020.
He said planes sometimes needed to stay overnight on the island due to bad weather or breakdowns, and friendships had developed between the pilots and crew and island families.
"Quite a number [of pilots and crew] come out on holidays to see us as they've developed attachments to the place," Mr Murray said.
Island resident Cindy Shick worked with Mr Murray as a Qantas agent for almost 30 years.
"For many of us, you go over to the mainland, and you come back with your baby," Ms Shick said.
"There's a generation of kids who've never flown on anything but QantasLink as they came back in their mum's arms."
Ms Shick's husband, fifth-generation islander Jack Shick, said the ending of the Qantas era was a significant milestone.
Lord Howe Island's flying boat era spanned from 1947 to 1974 and Qantas operated the large craft until 1951.
Ansett later took over and Mr Murray's father was the Ansett manager on Lord Howe Island from 1958 to 1974.
"The flying boats were just exceptional," Mr Murray said.
"We are all flying boat 'tragics' on Lord Howe.
"We love the era [and] seeing the grace of a very large aircraft skimming across the lagoon.
"The aircraft could only alight here at high tide … quite a swell can come in over our reef, so the runway, if I can term it that, was rather uneven at times."
Mr Shick said many island residents had fond memories of the flying boat days.
"They [flying boats] were very comfortable, the seats were like small lounge chairs and when a meal was served it came on a proper plate, [with a] knife and fork, nothing like air travel nowadays," he said.
"The highlight of the trip was landing on the crystal-clear waters of the lagoon.
QantasLink chief operating officer Nick Collie said, moving forward, the airline would have a codeshare partnership with Skytrans and would continue a connection with Lord Howe Island.
"As a nod to our longstanding history … we will be naming one of our newest A321 XLR aircraft, Seven Peaks Walk, after the iconic Lord Howe Island track," Mr Collie said.
Skytrans has been awarded the licence to operate the regulated route to Lord Howe Island until March 2030, and its transition mode with Qantas ends in February 2026, after which it will exclusively operate all flights.
Skytrans CEO Alan Milne said: "Skytrans is honoured to be able to continue this essential air service and looks forward to working closely with the Lord Howe Island community to ensure a safe, reliable and customer-focused operation continues."
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