Qantas has announced that it will launch nonstop flights between Melbourne and Dallas, complementing its existing flights between Sydney and Dallas.
Starting 2nd December 2022, Qantas will operate 4-flights-a-week between Melbourne Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport with the following schedule:
- Melbourne-Dallas
- Departure time: 14:00
- Arrival time: 12:45
- Flight time: 15 hours and 45 minutes
- Flight number: QF21
- Frequency: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
- Dallas-Melbourne
- Departure time: 19:10
- Arrival time: 05:45 (+2 days)
- Flight time: 17 hours and 35 minutes
- Flight number: QF22
- Frequency: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Flights will be operated by Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner featuring 42 lie-flat Business Class seats, 28 Premium Economy seats and 166 standard Economy Class seats. This is the first time that the two cities will be connected by nonstop flight by any airline. Qantas passengers will easily be able to connect to over 200 cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America with its oneworld partner American Airlines.
Stephanie Tully, Chief Customer Officer, Qantas Group, said:
No city in the world did it tougher during COVID than Melbourne, but no city is bouncing back as quickly. We are seeing really strong demand from Melburnians wanting to travel overseas for a holiday or business trip after two years at home, while inbound tourism is starting to pick up. Flights to the United States are particularly strong with Los Angeles bookings now exceeding pre-COVID levels. As well as being a destination in its own right, Dallas Fort Worth is one of the biggest hub airports in the United States and is located less than a four-hour flight from every major US city.
She added:
These new flights provide excellent connections for Australians visiting the United States and allow Melbourne to tap into an enormous inbound tourism market from cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Washington DC, and Miami, as well as saving hours of travel time. We know large numbers of customers have been travelling between Melbourne and Dallas Fort Worth via our existing Sydney service, which gives us great confidence about how this route will perform when flights start. We thank the Victorian Government and Melbourne Airport for their support and assisting in the recovery of tourism to Melbourne and the regions.
Related: Qantas to launch nonstop flights to Rome
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Flights to Los Angeles increase and Melbourne again gets Airbus A380
Qantas is adding another 4-weekly flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles with its Boeing B787s, up from 4-weekly currently, to meet strong demand on the route. This means that there will be 8-flights-a-week between Melbourne and Los Angeles. The additional flights are operating from this week.
The airline’s refurbished Airbus A380 superjumbo are also returning to Melbourne in December 2022 with some flights to Los Angeles operated by them.
The aircraft have a reconfigured Business cabin, with 70 updated suites, an extended Premium Economy section with 60 seats (up from 35) as well as refreshed Economy and First cabins. The upper deck lounge (open to Business and First Class passengers) has been expanded and upgraded with booth style seating for 10 people, a self-service bar and an option to order signature drinks and snacks. Thirty Economy seats were removed to make room for more premium seating.
Commenting on the return of A380 to Melbourne, Stephanie Tully said:
Our customers in Melbourne have told us they have really missed the Qantas A380, so it’s fantastic that they’ll be back flying by the end of the year with our full premium service on these newly refurbished aircraft.
The Qantas Melbourne International Business Lounge has also reopened for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Melbourne First Lounge, which operated as a hybrid First/Business Lounge during the pandemic, has reverted to the full premium offering.
Meanwhile, Qantas and Jetstar recently announced plans to increase flights to New Zealand.
Featured image by Qantas
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