It is Aviation History Month so it is appropriate that Australian national carrier Qantas Airways has this week taken delivery of a brand new Boeing 737-800 carrying a retro livery and bearing the name of trailblazing former chief executive officer, James Strong.

The newest addition to the Qantas Airways fleet touched down in Sydney on November 19, 2014 wearing a design that is a flashback to the livery that adorned Qantas Boeing 747s in the 1970s as a flying tribute to mark seven decades of the Flying Kangaroo logo, which falls this month.

James Strong was Qantas chief executive officer from 1993 to 2001 and later served on the Qantas Board until his death in March 2013. He was instrumental in the making of the modern Qantas, including its merger with Australian Airlines.

"Seeing this brand new aircraft in classic livery inspires a real sense of pride in all that Qantas and its people have achieved,” said the carrier’s chief executive officer, Alan Joyce at a special event to mark the jet’s arrival on Australian soil. “For 70 years this familiar kangaroo on the tail has represented not just our airline but also the best of Australia and a sense of home for those who have seen it at airports around the world."

The new Boeing 737-800, the 75th of the aircraft type, will begin services across the Qantas domestic network from next week. It is the 11th new Boeing aircraft that the Qantas Group has taken delivery of this year. The delivery of the ‘retrojet’ coincides with the week of Qantas’ 94th birthday: The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS) was registered as a business on November 16, 1920.