If Qantas had the technology to fly direct between Australia and New York it would do so in a heartbeat, according to the airline’s CEO.
Speaking in Sydney this week, Alan Joyce said the carrier currently sends around 300 people a day to New York – but unfortunately aircraft restrictions means they’re currently flying to the destination either via Los Angeles or Dallas.
However, as soon as engineers unveil an aircraft capable of flying the full distance without stopping, Joyce said the airline would ‘go straight there’, Australian Business Traveller reported.
A plane closest to being able to deliver Aussies to New York is the Boeing 777-8X – a model that won’t be available until the next decade.
“We’re looking at the new 777-8X that would potentially have the range to do it but that doesn’t come until [the early] 2020s.”
Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO
With a five year wait on the appropriate technology, this means Australians are more likely to be flying direct to Europe before the New York.
Earlier this year, Joyce revealed he was hoping to be able to use the Boeing 787-9 to fly Australians direct to the UK by 2017.
He indicated that the service would operate from Perth to London and would take around 18 hours to complete.
Click here for more on Qantas’ plans to fly direct to the UK.
In the meantime, Qantas is preparing to increase its Sydney-Dallas services to daily from 26 April next year. The service will be operated by the A380 and is currently the world’s longest commercial service.