Qantas

Acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service", Australia's first and biggest airline.

It flies an extensive schedule between all Australian capital cities, as well as many regional cities and towns. It also flies many international routes from Australia. The airline was government owned until the 1990's, but was successfully privatised, with British Airways owning a significant stake.

As of September 2001, with the collapse of [Ansett Airlines]? Qantas holds a near monopoly on the Australian domestic air travel market, though this situation is likely to change depending on Ansett's ultimate fate.