With the US Department of Transport granting American Airlines and Qantas’s Joint Business Agreement, Qantas will proceed with its plans to launch two new transpacific routes from Brisbane.
Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Image, Qantas
The two new routes will be
- Brisbane to Chicago O’Hare International
- Brisbane to San Francisco International
Brisbane to Chicago O’Hare will operate four times a week between the two cities. It ll have an expected 16 hours 20 minutes flight time and be the fourth longest flight in the world when it launches. Meanwhile, Brisbane to San Francisco will operate three times a week with an expected flight time of 12 hours 40 minutes.
The new routes are expected to launch by the end of April 2020 and will add more than 170,000 seats across the Pacific each year according to Qantas.
Both flights will utilise Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on these ultra long haul routes.
Brisbane currently sees a daily flight to Los Angeles that continues onto New York JFK.
In quotes
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the launch of 787 flights from Brisbane to Chicago and San Francisco would be a win for customers and tourism.
“This is fantastic news for Queensland. It demonstrates the confidence that we have in the local tourism industry and our commitment to the Sunshine State,” said Mr Joyce.
“This will give Qantas and American Airlines customers unprecedented access. These flights will make it one stop from Chicago to Hamilton Island or San Francisco to Townsville.
“These new services will connect both Australian business travellers and holidaymakers with key centres of commerce, industry and culture in the United States.
Longreach
With plans to name one of their new Boeing 787 Longreach (the name applied to their Boeing 747 fleet), Qantas’s long haul/ultra long haul plans start to crystallize. Brisbane will experience 14 weekly flights between it and US cities – opening up more connection possibilities, whilst shaving off times on the total time of journey (the airline quotes a direct flight between Brisbane and Chicago will save up to six hours in the total journey).
With the 787’s long and thin operating characteristics, and the fashion for ultra-long haul non stop aircraft, the key thing that will drive the service will be the passenger experience on board. Qantas think they have this right with the Perth to London service (which according to the airline has which has the highest customer satisfaction rating on their network).
Hopefully, this can experience and satisfaction can transfer to the upcoming US Routes.
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