Qantas’ inaugural A380 direct service from Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney was welcomed this morning at Sydney Airport.
Known as the world’s longest route, Qantas says the introduction of the A380 offers travellers from the US the ultimate flying experience and will lead to greater opportunities for both tourism and for trade.
“We’ve already carried more than 300,000 passengers on the Dallas/Fort Worth route and we’re confident the introduction of the A380 will attract more travellers and introduce more Americans to Sydney and Australia,” Qantas executive manager international sales Stephen Thompson said.
The new service will see an additional seat capacity of more than ten percent each week, while Qantas works with its partners to increase visitor numbers from the US, including American Airlines who connect travellers to Qantas services from more than 100 destinations across North America.
The new service means travellers from the US now have access to A380 services from both Los Angeles and Dallas/Fort Worth, with Qantas offering 40 return services between the US and Australia.
The service is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
“To create awareness of Sydney and NSW and the new non-stop services that will bring them here, Qantas and Destination NSW have worked together on an integrated marketing campaign, which includes digital and out-of-home media in the US,” Destination NSW chief executive officer Sandra Chipchase said.
“The US is one of our top five key inbound visitor markets and in the past financial year, 317,000 visitors from the US contributed approximately AUD $546 million into the NSW economy, so the more we can do to encourage them to visit Sydney and NSW the better.”
