Qantas has just revealed a new ultra long haul route, which will be the carrier’s longest route to the United States. You know aviation is starting to recover from the pandemic when you see airlines from Australia and New Zealand announcing new international service (Air New Zealand just added an Auckland to New York flight).
In this post:
Qantas adds Melbourne to Dallas route in December 2022
As of December 2, 2022, Qantas will be adding a 4x weekly flight between Melbourne (MEL) and Dallas (DFW). The flight will operate with the following schedule:
QF21 Melbourne to Dallas departing 2:00PM arriving 12:45PM
QF22 Dallas to Melbourne departing 7:10PM arriving 5:45AM (+2 days)
The flight will operate in both directions on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It will cover a distance of 8,992 miles, and is blocked at 15hr45min eastbound and 17hr35min westbound.
This route will complement Qantas’ existing Sydney to Dallas route, which is scheduled to be operated daily in peak season with a Boeing 787-9 (pre-pandemic it was operated by an Airbus A380, though there’s no indication yet of the A380 returning to the route, especially with Qantas reducing its A380 fleet).
Qantas will also use a Boeing 787-9 for this new Melbourne to Dallas route, featuring just 236 seats (this is a pretty sparse configuration, as many full service airlines have nearly 300 seats on these planes). As far as the configuration goes, Qantas’ Boeing 787-9s have 42 business class seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Then the 787-9s have 28 premium economy seats, in a 2-3-2 configuration.
Lastly in economy there are 166 seats, in a 3-3-3 configuration.
This will be one of the world’s longest flights
At just a tad under 9,000 miles, this will be one of the longest flights in the world:
- This flight will be just 17 miles shorter than Qantas’ longest pre-pandemic route, from Perth to London; however, seasonally the flight has a longer block time than Qantas’ Perth to London flight
- This flight will be 164 miles longer than Air New Zealand’s Auckland to New York flight
- This flight will be 414 miles longer than Qantas’ Sydney to Dallas flight
- The only flights currently longer than this one are Singapore Airlines’ routes from Singapore to New York and Newark
My take on Qantas’ new Melbourne to Dallas route
Qantas launching a Melbourne to Dallas route doesn’t really come as that much of a surprise. Dallas is a huge hub for American, and American has a transpacific joint venture with Qantas. So this route will offer significant connectivity on both ends, and also enable all kinds of one-stop routings. That being said, I’m not sure there’s all that much connectivity beyond Melbourne that isn’t also available through Sydney.
There’s something else I find interesting here, and maybe I’m just reading too much into things. Pre-pandemic, it sure seemed to me like Qantas was all about increasing its long haul network out of Brisbane. For example, Qantas had even put a Brisbane to Chicago route on sale, but that was postponed due to the pandemic.
It’s noteworthy that Qantas is now adding an all new-route out of Melbourne, rather than actually launching the Brisbane route that was announced pre-pandemic. Ultimately Qantas doesn’t have a massive long haul fleet, so I wonder if this is part of a strategy shift in the long run, or what.
Bottom line
Qantas will be adding a new route between Melbourne and Dallas as of December 2022. The route will operate 4x weekly with a Boeing 787-9, and will be one of the longest routes in the world. It’s always cool to see new ultra long haul flights.
This one is unique for how long it is, though otherwise probably isn’t that special unless you live in one of the two cities, given that Qantas already flies from Sydney to Dallas.
What do you make of Qantas’ new Melbourne to Dallas route?
Ben I sat next to a Qantas A380 pilot who was repositioning for the Dallas flight. He told me first and Biz was always full but due to fuel load they could only carry 60 % loading for economy so it’s not the most profitable flight for Qantas
Hopefully better for them on 787
Would it also be semi-related to VA exiting long haul markets, that QF previously were grabbing market shares out of BNE which is no longer a priority now?
This is a relief! Many Melburnians try and avoid LAX when going to other parts of the US so this is a great option for us!
We also try to avoid connecting at SYD or BNE, which requires an inter-terminal transfer on either a bus or a train.
If you're traveling from the east coast of the States to PER, ADL, or other points west then connecting at MEL is much easier.
I'd rather connect at AKL than at SYD or BNE.
Makes so much sense. The US is an ever increasing market for Australian travellers be it corporate or leisure. I often have to depart Australia from Canberra (the capital) & I always fly via Melbourne if possible for all the reasons others have mentioned - it is just so easy to walk between terminals unlike Sydney which is a disaster coming or going, Unfortunately the QF First lounge is not replicated in Melbourne but apart...
Makes so much sense. The US is an ever increasing market for Australian travellers be it corporate or leisure. I often have to depart Australia from Canberra (the capital) & I always fly via Melbourne if possible for all the reasons others have mentioned - it is just so easy to walk between terminals unlike Sydney which is a disaster coming or going, Unfortunately the QF First lounge is not replicated in Melbourne but apart from hitting it at the same time as the QF1 to LHR when it is packed until they leave, it provides pretty much the same services & f & b.
And whilst I hate Sydney airport I also hate LAX so any opportunity to bypass that mess is also welcome. I used to fly to NYC via SYD for SYD/DFW when it was operating & it was great although it was often late. However on those occasions there were always staff at the gate waiting for me with other ticketing options to ensure onward connections. The only other option I prefer which has also been on shut down is Mel/NRT/JFK with JAL- seriously the most pain free experience possible. Unfortunately with Japan having been closed to foreigners & now QF in the mix and a change of airport to Haneda, hard to know whether life will be quite as smooth on that route once both JAL & QF decide what their plans will be.
Brisbane is too small. I think the pandemic has likely made Qantas reassess and want to take less risks - Melbourne and Sydney have always had almost equal waiting in terms of cities, I mean Canberra was literally created as a new city to be a compromise capital between the two. Melbourne and Sydney have a lot more certain/assured traffic and are much less risky than Brisbane. People are also more willing to pay premium...
Brisbane is too small. I think the pandemic has likely made Qantas reassess and want to take less risks - Melbourne and Sydney have always had almost equal waiting in terms of cities, I mean Canberra was literally created as a new city to be a compromise capital between the two. Melbourne and Sydney have a lot more certain/assured traffic and are much less risky than Brisbane. People are also more willing to pay premium for more direct routing to these two than Brisbane where the yield is a lot lower and more value based.
Qantas has expressed that their still interested in BNE-ORD flights it’s just a matter of when.
Brisbane is not too small, it may not be like Sydney and Melbourne but it’s definitely growing and that’s before you add the population growth of surrounding areas like the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Also with the Olympics being held in Brisbane in 2032 there will be a lot of growth opportunities for Brisbane going forward.
BNE-ORD...
Qantas has expressed that their still interested in BNE-ORD flights it’s just a matter of when.
Brisbane is not too small, it may not be like Sydney and Melbourne but it’s definitely growing and that’s before you add the population growth of surrounding areas like the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. Also with the Olympics being held in Brisbane in 2032 there will be a lot of growth opportunities for Brisbane going forward.
BNE-ORD would be perfect for Northern US/Canada based travellers who want a break from the brutal winters.
Qantas also has more Domestic flights from Brisbane than they do from Sydney and Melbourne and it makes a whole lot more sense to transit in Brisbane rather than having to backtrack through Sydney or Melbourne.
For Queensland based travellers a BNE-ORD would also be much better for connections onto North-East US and Canada destinations rather than LA, especially when Air NZ provides a lot of one stop flights to large destinations in the US via Auckland.
But this is all speculation and 'potential' not something you can bank on. My point still stands that Melbourne is seen as a safer bet. Also more premium demand, and people willing to pay more to travel directly to Melbourne - I think Brisbane is definitely a low yield market where value is probably more a priority for people going there.
Domestic passengers in Australia would much rather coonect in Melbourne than Sydney! Terminals are all connected and transfer times are much shorter. Australians avoid connecting in Sydney unless they have to!
Great! Hoping I can expand into the Aussie market soon.
Aussie fellas, hmu if you and your wife want my services! You can find my info and satisfied testimonials on my socials!
As @Stuart says, MEL is a vast improvement on the sh!tshow that is SYD. Much preferred by anyone who needs to position from ADL, BNE. HBA or even PER. A welcome development!
“so I wonder if this is part of a strategy shift in the long run, or what.”
A wordsmith as always.
I assume no word on Qantas actually launching BNE-ORD? I seem to recall them claiming that they still planned on launching it.
Qantas has expressed that their still interested in BNE-ORD, it’s just a matter of when.
No Qantas with first class anymore from the US? Sheesh
Qantas are flying A380s SYD-LAX and will bring them back on MEL-LAX later in the year, so there are F seats to the US. B787 class isn't bad.
B787 *J* class isn't bad. Sheesh!
I have an f redemption from syd to lax later this week so they do exist sometimes. Flew Dallas to Sydney in j a couple of weeks ago. Agree it’s a nice experience (except for the wasted Aussie shouting out all night)
Who needs it? Just looking to use free tickets with points? Those days are over.
Melbourne has traditionally been a stronger corporate market than Brisbane (e.g. many mining companies and banks are headquartered in Melbourne), hence why Qantas might desire to prioritise it over Brisbane. Brisbane has the advantage of being closer to the U.S so it is easier logistically to launch a long haul route like ORD from Brisbane than it would from Melbourne.
and besides, when there are headwinds this is likely to be a DFW-BNE flight anyway. (the one time I did DFW-SYD, we had to stop for fuel at BNE)
Did IAH-SYD a ton of times pre-pandemic and this never once happened
Used to happen on the 744 all the time in the southern winter - I've been woken by an unscheduled detour to Nadi for fuel more than once. With the 789, not so much.
Yes BNE was chosen mostly for the range, QF said it was only possible to do ORD flights from BNE, MEL or SYD would have needed a stopover.
With some A380s going away - no A380 for DFW-SYD. The MEL flight adds back capacity, but not daily, likely only on days the A380 was full. A loss for reward seats , since best availability was on those slow days out of DFW.
With the use of a 787 from SYD instead of an A380, the extra flights probably are designed to make up the capacity difference and QF would have a good idea how many passengers used to fly MEL-SYD-DFW. So while some connections are only available out of MEL, there is probably enough origin traffic from MEL alone.
BNE to ORD probably more to do with range rather than anything else. If they could fly SYD to ORD, I'm sure they would.
MEL is FAR better for connections. Even when adding on a bit of extra time for the flight.
SYD is a mess transferring between Intl and domestic. Often huge lines at the transfer desk, even for Business class, and then chaos in getting the bus outside to the Domestic terminals that run every 30 minutes at best and takes 10 minutes to drive. You can take the train but have to pay around $5....
MEL is FAR better for connections. Even when adding on a bit of extra time for the flight.
SYD is a mess transferring between Intl and domestic. Often huge lines at the transfer desk, even for Business class, and then chaos in getting the bus outside to the Domestic terminals that run every 30 minutes at best and takes 10 minutes to drive. You can take the train but have to pay around $5. It's faster I guess, but still. At least Heathrow allows free movement on trains between terminals.
MEL is an EASY walk between and seamless. So yeah, for connectivity MEL is a HUGE improvement over SYD.
agree re transfer in Sydney. Brisbane also annoying as you have to take a bus.
Yes BNE was chosen mostly for the range, QF said it was only possible to do ORD flights from BNE, MEL or SYD would have needed a stopover.