Qantas operated a special charter flight from Sydney to Uluru (Ayers Rock) on its new Airbus A220. I was onboard to experience the new aircraft and for the first time, visited the Australian outback.

The first Qantaslink A220, featuring the artwork of Maringka Baker. The aircraft is named after the original artwork, Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa (the creation story of the two sisters). The aircraft spent two weeks in the paint shop where a striking Aboriginal paint scheme was applied, making this aircraft the sixth to join Qantas’s Flying Art Series since Wunala Dreaming.

The Qantaslink A220 has 10 Business Class and 127 Economy Class seats. It was an incredible quiet takeoff out of Sydney with the graduate changing scenery and landscape from green to red enroute. Uluru was very hot with temperature of 44 degrees Celsius. The approach to Uluru was strikingly beautiful with orange earth colors and a lot of bush vegetation. We also saw Kata Tjuṯa from a distance.

After landing, a special aboriginal dance and ceremony was held at the brand new aircraft. In the evening, we were treated to an amazing sunset and drone show called ‘Wintjiri Wiru’ by Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia.

The next day, I saw the sunrise over Uluru and did a walk around it before departing back. It was my first time seeing Australia’s outback despite living in Sydney for 14 years. To end the video, enjoy an air-to-air video of Australia’s newest jet in the country setting.