Qantas to start Sydney-Dallas direct flights

Qantas will begin direct flights from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) airport in Texas from 16 May 2011.

DFW is the primary hub for American Airlines, so the new service will give Australians direct access to some additional connecting flights throughout the US.

The move comes at the expense of the direct Sydney-San Francisco service, which Qantas will axe as of 14 May in order to provide the Boeing 747-400ER aircraft needed for this long-haul flight.

Qantas will offer business class, premium economy and economy class cabins on the longest 747 flight in the world: it tops out at 8578 miles or 15,886 km, some 10% longer than Sydney to Los Angeles.

The direct Sydney-Dallas service can only run eastbound, however -- the return flight will go from DFW to Brisbane and refuel before continuing on to Sydney, due to the prevailing headwind direction over the Pacific.

The Dallas flights will be numbered QF7/QF8:

QF7 will depart Sydney at 1325 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, crossing the International Date Line and arriving in Dallas at 1350 the same day.
QF8 will fly Dallas-Brisbane-Sydney, departing DFW at 2200 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, to arrive in Brisbane at 0500 two days later, before departing at 0630 to touch down in Sydney at 0805.

Qantas says the new route will allow passengers to reach 13 new destinations in the US and three in Mexico through new American Airlines-operated codeshare services: Albuquerque, Boise, Cleveland, Washington DC (National), El Paso, New York (La Guardia), Kansas City, Oklahoma, Phoenix, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Tucson, Cancun, Guadalajara and Mexico City.

"It will connect Qantas customers to one of the USA’s major hub airports, benefitting both business and leisure travellers," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement. "Flying to DFW is an important step for Qantas as we expand and improve our international services."

Dallas/Fort Worth airport in Texas is one of the world's largest airports, and America's largest hub airport, handling 56 million passengers in 2009. Qantas passengers flying into DFW will be forwarded with Qantas' oneworld partner, American Airlines, or its regional equivalent, American Eagle.