Qantas sets sights on Chicago direct
After first-ever direct passenger service linking Perth with London, Qantas will turn its attention to US
Qantas Airways is evaluating direct flights from Australia to Chicago as the next step in its plan to add more ultra-long-haul destinations using an expanding fleet of Boeing 787 jetliners.
Fresh from launching the first-ever direct passenger service to Europe — linking Perth with London’s Heathrow hub — Qantas will turn its attention to the US with the next batch of four 787s due for delivery this year, Chief Executive Office Alan Joyce said in an interview Tuesday. A new service from Melbourne to San Francisco starting in September has already been announced and 787s will also replace 747 jumbos on Qantas’ existing Brisbane-Los Angeles-New York route. But also in the carrier’s thinking is a direct Brisbane-Chicago service or flights from the Queensland city to Seattle or Dallas, Joyce revealed.
The same analysis of a decade of wind and weather data that was applied to the Perth-Heathrow route has shown that all three destinations would be reachable with a standard passenger load, though flights wouldn’t begin until Qantas wins antitrust immunity for a joint venture with American Airlines. Oneworld alliance partners American and Qantas in February asked US regulators for a second time for permission to coordinate fares and schedules and share costs and revenue on trans-Pacific flights. The new US routes will be introduced before Qantas considers adding more direct European services, which will require both sustained high bookings on the 17-hour Perth flight and a positive trend in the global economy.
The CEO has described the routes as the “last frontier” of aviation, after which all of the world’s major cities will have non-stop air links. Options for making such long flights more bearable would include introducing a new four-class structure, with part of the cargo hold utilised for sleeping berths, Joyce said.