Qantas Launches Its Latest Ultra-Long-Haul Link

DALLAS - Qantas (QF) has launched its latest "ultra-long-haul" service from Melbourne (MEL) to Dallas/Fort Worth. It becomes MEL's first non-stop North American service outside the West Coast.

The thrice-weekly service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays joins QF's other "ultra-long-haul" services between Perth (PER), London (LHR) and Rome (FCO), plus Sydney (SYD) to DFW. The latest addition is scheduled to take 17 hours.

The MEL-DFW route joins QF's other ultra-long-haul routes including PER to LHR. Photo: Ervin Eslami/Airways.

"New Opportunities"

Regarding the new route, Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said, "We're excited to be providing our customers with another new international destination out of Melbourne as demand for travel continues to grow strongly.

"We've already seen a great response to these flights since they went on sale, not just from those wanting to visit Dallas, but for travellers wanting to take advantage of the excellent connections to popular destinations like Orlando, Miami and Boston.

"As one of the biggest hubs in the United States, Dallas/Fort Worth is located less than a four-hour flight from every major city, connecting travellers to over 200 destinations across North America with our airline partners.

"New routes also open up new opportunities to bring more visitors to Australia. Around 40 per cent of bookings on this route are people coming from the US directly into Melbourne, and this will have flow-on benefits for local businesses."

The route will also be boosted by a codeshare agreement with QF's Oneworld Alliance member American Airlines (AA). This will offer customers the chance to connect to AA's vast network from DFW, as well as joint marketing and ticket sales.

Qf hopes to introduce the A350-1000 in 2025. Photo: Qantas.

MEL's Longest Route

Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argue said, "Qantas' new service to Dallas will be the longest route ever flown out of Melbourne, and the fourth longest in the world.

"This is the first time Victoria has had a non-stop connection to a North American city that's not located on the west coast and will help provide local travellers and exporters with faster and easier access to much of the continent while bringing more international tourists to Victoria.

"Melbourne is Australia's capital of food, sport, major events and the arts and today's launch demonstrates that as aircraft technology continues to improve, it is the ideal base for ultra-long-haul flights to other destinations."

In May 2022, QF announced its order for 12 Airbus A350-100s to be deployed on further "ultra-long-haul" flights as part of the airline's 'Project Sunrise.' This will see non-stop flights from its SYD base to destinations such as New York and London from 2025.

https://airwaysmag.com/qantas-orders-a350s-project-sunrise/

Featured Image: Qantas Boeing 787-9 (VH-ZNB). Photo: Noah Pitkin/Airways.