American Airlines and Qantas Airways have announced plans to add new flights between the United States and Australia.
New routes between Los Angeles and Sydney, operated by American Airlines, and between San Francisco and Sydney, operated by Qantas will be added from December, further strengthening the partnership between the two airlines.
American will begin its daily, nonstop flight between LA and Sydney on December 17, 2015, while Qantas will commence its service between Sydney and San Francisco on December 20, 2015 on peak days, to increase to six-times-weekly from January 2016.
The closer and more integrated relationship between the two carriers will hopefully provide more opportunities for future growth into trans-Pacific markets not currently served by either airline, such as New Zealand.
“Qantas has been a fantastic partner through oneworld and our joint business relationship, and strengthening those ties has provided us with a solid foundation to introduce American-operated flights into the Australian region,” said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of American Airlines.
American Airlines will be flying its flagship Boeing 777-300ER on the route, which features all-aisle access, fully lie-flat seats and a walk-up bar in the premium cabins, while Qantas plan to operate a reconfigured Boeing 747-400 that has the same style interiors found on its flagship A380 aircraft.
“For over 20 years, we’ve worked in partnership with American to give our customers the best network on both sides of the Pacific,” said Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas Group. “We are excited to take the alliance to a new level and expand our services to new destinations including San Francisco – Australia’s biggest unserved direct corporate destination.”
Sydney Airport has welcomed the expansion of the partnership between Qantas and American Airlines, with the new services benefitting tourism, business and trade in the region. The airlines’ Sydney – US capacity will increase by 33 percent – a further 301,000 sets per year with the new services.
“The United States is a key inbound tourist market for Sydney as our third largest international visitor market and the US economy continues to recover strongly. We expect this increased capacity to further boost tourism and visitor expenditure in Sydney and NSW,” said Kerrie Mather, Sydney Airport managing director and chief executive officer.
Through their joint business, American and Qantas have provided increased connectivity to destinations beyond their key gateways. Travellers from Australia have the ability to access more than 150 destinations throughout North America on American’s extensive network from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Travellers from North America can access up to 60 destinations throughout Australia and New Zealand when connecting on Qantas trans-Pacific routes from Sydney.
Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan said the plans by American Airlines to add Australia to its international network was great news for the tourism industry.
“The United States is one of our largest volume and highest spending markets, with more than half a million American visitors pumping more than $2.6 billion into our economy each year,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
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