Australian-based international airline Qantas today announced that international superstar John Travolta has joined the company and has become its "Ambassador-at-Large".Qantas also announced that following extensive sessions at its Sydney headquarters and with Boeing in Seattle, Mr Travolta has successfully completed 747-400 First Officer simulator training. Qantas Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Geoff Dixon presented Mr Travolta with his "wings" at Los Angeles airport today. Mr Dixon said the airline was delighted to welcome Mr Travolta to the company as "Ambassador-at-Large". Mr Travolta said that, as part of his new role with Qantas, he would pilot his own aircraft, an ex-Qantas Boeing 707 jet specially painted in its original Qantas 1960s branding and livery, across the globe to 10 countries on a Spirit of Friendship tour.The Spirit of Friendship tour will include visits to 13 cities around the world between 1 July and late August this year.Commenting on Mr Travolta's appointment, Mr Dixon said: "It's no secret that John is an avid fan of aviation. He is also a keen and talented pilot, and supporting his Spirit of Friendship tour is a fantastic way to showcase Qantas in its major overseas markets."The tour is also a unique opportunity for Qantas to underscore its commitment to international tourism."Mr Travolta said he chose the Spirit of Friendship theme for the tour following the shocking events that the world has experienced in the past 12 months. "The past year has been awful for our sense of security and goodwill and also for trust and friendship between different cultures and countries," he said."I'm undertaking this tour to extend the hand of friendship - to reach out, to cross borders, make contact, rekindle friendships and make new friends."That's why I've teamed up with Qantas, an airline which embodies the spirit of Australia and the spirit of friendship. I've always admired the Qantas safety record and culture and I've been attracted to its values of quality, openness and friendliness."Mr Travolta will fly from Los Angeles to Auckland in New Zealand, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Rome, Paris, Frankfurt and New York before returning to Los Angeles. The tour involves about 80 flying hours and covers more than 35,000 nautical miles (64,700 kilometres).As "Ambassador-at-Large" Mr Travolta has become a Qantas employee and will, during the global tour, spend time with fellow Qantas employees in each market.Mr Travolta purchased the ex-Qantas 707 four years ago and has been an enthusiastic aviator since his childhood. Lucky boy! By the way, his aircraft is registered N707JT.

Yeah he was on the news from LA in Calif....Must be nice! :-cool

I guess being an owner of a 707 you have to come up with excuses to keep flying ...Michael J.

I suppose Oliva Newton John will get tied into United, American or some other US carrier...Timothy(She is an Austrailian I think....seems like a fair trade)

or Nicole Kidman :) beautiful lol

Perhaps, but he's been busted by the FAA twice.

Oh yeah? What did he do?Other interesting planes John T. has owned in the past:DC-3 (turboprop conversion)Lockheed ConstellationDeHavilland Vampire (jet trainer)Gulfstream IIGulftream IV...and probably many others...

The Qantas decision to associate itself with the netherworld of celebrity "glamor" isn't exactly pertinent to the subject of flight simulation. Your post reads like a press release, and you come across like you're trying to sell the concept. While to some it will appear that Qantas has decided to risk its credibility by employing an actor who flies in his spare time, the question is, what are the debatable marketing plans of an Australian airline doing here in the first place?

Calm down Paul_WI find the news very interesting.Maybe someone can come up with a 707 repaint to match the livery on Travolta's plane and find out the flight plan for his world tour. It would be great fun to fly it in FS2002.Matthew.

Yeah, its aviation news, and interesting reading.Most people don't know that Travolta is a very accomplished pilot, and holds ratings on many different types (no, I'm not the spokesperson for the John Travolta fan club, but ANYONE who demonstrates his/her skill as a pilot earns admiration from me

And your post is??? Don't think so!!!I personally found the article interesting...Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australiahttp://www.fsd-international.com/images/FSD_beta_tester.jpg[h3] FSD Aircraft "Around the world" flight.Now at KCRG (Craig Muni.) Florida, USA[/h3][h3]"I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol."[/h3]Intel Pentium IV 2.26GHz(533) Socket 478 pins, 512K L2 Cache 0.13micron TechnologyIntel D850EMV2-LAN P4 (533MHz FSB) w/ Management S/WKingston/Samsung 256MB PC-800 RAMBUS, "Intel Approved" x 2 (512Mb)MSI-8872 GeForce4 Titanium 4600 128MB DDR with TV-OUT & Video CapturePioneer 16x DVD , 40x CD-ROM Tray Load Version ATA 66Hyundai -ImageQuest P910+, 19" Multi-Scan Digital Monitor, 0.26mm 1600x 1200 @ 85HzIBM Deskstar 60GXP, 60GB HDD IDE, 2MB Cache, 8.5ms, 7200rpm, ATA 100Microsoft Internet Hardware Value Pack , Internet PS/2 Keyboard & Optical Intelimouse Bundle3Com 3CSOHO100-TX OfficeConnect 10/100 Faset Ethernet 10/100 NICAOpen QF50 ( with Multimedia USB2.0 Front Panel ) Midi ATX Case with 300W P4 ATX Power Supply Hercules Game Theater XP, 6.1 speakers Dolby

Don't quote me on this, but as I recall (feeble memory here)once he had a fender bender on the runway and walked back to the tower without telling anyone, another time he was in the pilot seat when he wasn't qualified to be there. Once he got grounded for 120 days. BUT, that should be no reflection on John's abilities and zeal for flying; he's only human.

Actually the imagery I saw of the inside of the 707 was pretty incredible. What would something like that cost to buy and secondly cost to operate?Cheers,Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australiahttp://www.fsd-international.com/images/FSD_beta_tester.jpg[h3] FSD Aircraft "Around the world" flight.Now at KCRG (Craig Muni.) Florida, USA[/h3][h3]"I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol."[/h3]Intel Pentium IV 2.26GHz(533) Socket 478 pins, 512K L2 Cache 0.13micron TechnologyIntel D850EMV2-LAN P4 (533MHz FSB) w/ Management S/WKingston/Samsung 256MB PC-800 RAMBUS, "Intel Approved" x 2 (512Mb)MSI-8872 GeForce4 Titanium 4600 128MB DDR with TV-OUT & Video CapturePioneer 16x DVD , 40x CD-ROM Tray Load Version ATA 66Hyundai -ImageQuest P910+, 19" Multi-Scan Digital Monitor, 0.26mm 1600x 1200 @ 85HzIBM Deskstar 60GXP, 60GB HDD IDE, 2MB Cache, 8.5ms, 7200rpm, ATA 100Microsoft Internet Hardware Value Pack , Internet PS/2 Keyboard & Optical Intelimouse Bundle3Com 3CSOHO100-TX OfficeConnect 10/100 Faset Ethernet 10/100 NICAOpen QF50 ( with Multimedia USB2.0 Front Panel ) Midi ATX Case with 300W P4 ATX Power Supply Hercules Game Theater XP, 6.1 speakers Dolby

I work for the FAA as a summer legal clerk in the very office that dealt with Mr. Travolta. All I can say is, there have been a number of occasions where Mr. Travolta and the FAA have met in the same place, at the same time. The story is much longer and very interesting, but in all seriousness, I am bound by attorney client privilege. It was cool to finally find out all of the details and confirm/deny rumours.I'll have to write a memoir right before I die. Even then I think my estate would be bound by the privilege and be exposed to liability if they profited from the book. P4 1.8768 ram 80 gig hardriveVisiontek Ti4 4600CH yoke/pedals19" inch monitor-Soundblaster PCI 512Win XPPrivate PilotAOPALawyerPilots Bar Association"Men without dreams are never free, twas thus this way and thus will ever be."

I really don't see what the big deal is. Who among us doesn't have thier own 707 anyways? :-lol :-) :( ;) Tim13