Delta Air Lines will commence its first-ever Brisbane-Los Angeles flights later this year as travel to the United States continues to rise and competition on Australia-US flights ramps up.
In a boost to two-way tourism between Queensland and California, Delta Air Lines’ three-times-weekly non-stop seasonal service will kick off on 4 December from LA to Brisbane, with BNE-LAX flights commencing 6 December. The service will operate until 28 March 2025.
Come Christmas, Brisbane-North America capacity will surge to 144 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with Delta’s new service joining United Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada and Qantas operations for a total of 34 flights per week between the Queensland capital and North America.
Utilising its A350-900 on the route, Delta will offer four product experiences – Delta One Suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin – with a capacity of 306 passengers per flight.
“With this addition of Brisbane, Delta’s upcoming winter schedule will offer our customers up to 17 weekly flights between the US and Australia,” Delta Air Lines Senior Vice President of Network Planning Joe Esposito said.
“This marks our most extensive schedule to the South Pacific to date, and as we build our presence in the region, we know our customers will enjoy the enhanced experience consistently provided by Delta.”
“Unparalleled” interest
With the new Queensland flights, Brisbane Airport will become Delta’s third destination in Australasia – the carrier also operates daily flights between Sydney and LA (with a second daily service during the summer) and launched daily Auckland-LA services in October 2023.
“We are very proud Brisbane Airport will become Delta’s second destination in Australia,” Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said.
“Brisbane is charting unprecedented territory, witnessing an unparalleled level of interest from North American visitors. This strategic move by Delta Air Lines not only fortifies the ties between the United States and Queensland but also signifies a boost for the local visitor economy.
“American tourists love visiting Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Noosa, travelling north to savour the wonders of The Great Barrier Reef and west to experience the Outback.
“I’m not sure if it is the upcoming Olympics or the insatiable appetite for Bluey, but right now Brisbane is the ‘must add’ destination for North American carriers, and this opens a world of opportunity.”
Queensland Tourism Minister Michael Healy called the news “another huge win for Queensland and fantastic news for the state’s international tourism recovery and good jobs”.
“The US was Queensland’s third largest visitor market in 2019, so we know there is a real appetite from Americans to travel to Queensland and enjoy our great lifestyle and iconic visitor experiences,” he stated.
New campaign
Healy added that Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) would lead a new marketing campaign to promote the Delta Air Lines flights, to be partly funded by Queensland’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF), which helped secure the new service.
It is anticipated the new flights will add 270,000 seats and up to 114,000 visitors to the Sunshine State over three years.
“TEQ welcomes this latest announcement, and we are already in talks with Delta about joint marketing opportunities which will kick-off mid-year to fill these planes headed for Queensland,” TEQ CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said.
“Additional direct access from Los Angeles into Brisbane is a massive opportunity for our tourism industry and while the United States is one of our biggest markets, we have so far only recovered around three-quarters of our 2019 numbers, so we have gains to make to recover and then grow beyond pre-pandemic visitor levels.”
The 26th international carrier to service Brisbane, Delta Air Lines commenced a partnership with Rex Airlines in October 2022, which will connect Delta flyers onwards to 23 destinations across regional and remote Queensland.
This year, Delta announced it would expand the Delta One cabin on its A350-900 aircraft, adding eight more lie-flat suites to the long-haul jet by mid-2024.
Earlier this month, Delta said it would launch brand-new premium lounges along with new Delta Sky Clubs in select major aviation hubs across the US including LA International.
Delta Air Lines and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) revealed the final phase of the US$2.3 billion (AU$3.6 billion) Delta Sky Way at LAX last year.