American Airlines is making its return to Brisbane, with Qantas also ramping up its transpacific offering in a move that will give Aussie travel agents more options and more premium seats to sell heading into the 2025 peak.
Together, American and Qantas will offer the most comprehensive service between North America and Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, connecting more than 200 U.S. cities to nearly 70 destinations across Australasia via five North American and four Australasian gateways.
A return to Brisbane
From 5 December 2025 through to the end of January 2026, American Airlines will operate three weekly flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Brisbane (BNE) using its newly designed Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The move marks a return to Queensland for the carrier, which first flew into Brisbane from Dallas Fort Worth in 2023. That seasonal service will also resume from 26 October 2025.
In December and January, the Qantas-American Airlines partnership will see a continuation of daily Brisbane-LAX services, with Qantas operating four flights and American the remaining three.
Qantas will take over daily operation of the BNE-LAX route from February 2026, also using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft upgrade will increase premium seat capacity for Queensland-based travellers and adds Premium Economy as a new class option.
Steve Johnson, American’s Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer, said: “Together [with Qantas], we offer the most comprehensive service connecting the United States with Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.”
Bigger aircraft, more frequency
Qantas will also increase flights between Melbourne and Dallas Fort Worth to daily from 3 December through January. This service launched in 2022 and connects directly to American’s U.S. hub, with onward links to more than 200 North American destinations.
From January 2026, Qantas will begin operating the Airbus A380 on all daily services between Sydney and Dallas Fort Worth, increasing capacity and bringing back First Class to the route.
As Cam Wallace, Qantas Group CEO of International, said, “The strength of our partnership with American Airlines continues to bring great benefit to our customers around the world.”
Honolulu handover
As part of its dual-brand strategy, Qantas will take over Jetstar’s Sydney to Honolulu route after the last Jetstar service on 24 October 2025. The handover is part of a broader shift in the Group’s transpacific focus, with Qantas now flying both Sydney-Honolulu and a recently launched Melbourne-Honolulu route.
Together, the network changes expand the Qantas and American Airlines footprint between North America and Australia to five major U.S. gateways: Los Angeles, Dallas Fort Worth, New York, San Francisco and Vancouver. In Australia, customers have access to connecting services from four major cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland, with onward connections to nearly 70 destinations.
In related news, Qantas has also confirmed two new international routes, with nonstop flights from Perth to Auckland and Johannesburg set to launch in December 2025. The additions build out the airline’s west coast hub, contributing over 155,000 seats annually and expanding international and domestic connections for WA-based travellers.
KARRYON UNPACKS: This update puts Brisbane firmly back on the U.S. radar, giving Queensland agents direct access to another premium-heavy transpacific route in peak season. The addition of A380s on DFW-SYD, more Dreamliners across the board and extra frequency to MEL opens up more sellable inventory—and more reasons to keep clients flying full service. The switch from Jetstar to Qantas on HNL routes also signals a broader premium shift agents should note.
