Qantas brand new route from Brisbane to San Francisco took off for the first time yesterday with the Flying Roo taking off from the Sunshine State to the Golden Gate on a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
The 12-hour 40 minute, 11,367km Brisbane to San Francisco (QF59) service marks the first time the River City and the Bay City have been linked by non-stop flights.
The new Brisbane flight will operate three days a week on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
It builds on Qantas’ existing daily direct flights from Sydney to San Francisco and four times weekly flights from Melbourne to San Francisco.
In April, Qantas will start flying from Brisbane to Chicago as it adds another unique route to its network using the Dreamliner.
Qantas International CEO Tino La Spina said forward bookings on both the new Brisbane routes are performing well.
“Customers will save around four hours travel time compared to the one-stop options currently on offer”.
Qantas International CEO Tino La Spina
He said while it has been a difficult start to the year for Australian tourism, new routes like this would help to stimulate interest and bring more visitors.
Qantas Premium Economy on the A330
“The message we’re sending to the US is that Australia is very much open for business and it’s easier than ever to get here,” he said.
Qantas will continue to promote Queensland destinations in the US market throughout the year to encourage American visitors to Australia, highlighting many iconic Aussie destinations like the Great Barrier Reef, which were not impacted by the heavily reported bushfires.
Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner
The new flights will be cross-promoted by Qantas partner American Airlines in the US.
Passengers transferring between domestic and international terminals at Brisbane will benefit from an increase in terminal transfer bus services during the morning peak period to cater for the additional customers coming off the new US services.