Qantas, which stood for "Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service" was founded in Longreach, Queensland in 1921. It is one of the world's safest airlines with nary a crash or fatality on its record post-WWII 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 707's. Qantas was exclusively an international airlines until its 1992 merger with Australian Airlines. In 1999, the airline returned to New York after a thirty year absence. Qantas is the launch carrier of the 747-400 QLR. It also secured the services of pilot/actor John Travolta for a promotional campaign in 2002 in which Travolta painted his Boeing 707 in the 1959 vintage "V-Jet" livery and acted as a goodwill ambassador for the airline. In 2008-09, Qantas is due to be the 3rd carrier to fly the Airbus A380.