Qantas, which stood for "Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service" was founded in Longreach, Queensland in 1921. It is the world's safest airline as you may recall from the movie "Rainman" with nary a crash or fatality post-war II on its record under the Qantas brand. Qantas is famed for its long haul routes, beginning with the Kangaroo Routes from London and San Francisco to Australia in 1959 using 707s. Qantas was exclusively an international airline until its 1992 purchase of Australian Airlines.