STAR POWER FOR QF AS A380 FLIES TO DFW
QANTAS is now proudly flying the world’s largest aircraft on the world’s longest route, after debuting its flagship A380 aircraft between Sydney and Dallas Fort Worth earlier this month. The landmark service, flying six times per week, makes connections between the cities significantly better than with the former 747 operation, which was forced to stop over in Brisbane on the return leg. Qantas launched Dallas flights in 2011, with the route providing excellent connectivity to other destinations across the USA because DFW is the biggest hub for QF’S partner American Airlines. Switching to the A380 has boosted QF’S capacity by about 10% on the route – although on the return leg as many as 80 seats are blocked off in economy class to ensure the plane has enough range. Qantas says the new superjumbo service is the result of several scheduling changes designed to unlock more flying time for its fleet – including the retiming of its Melbourne-dubai flights. Operating the A380 to Dallas has also seen the introduction of First Class on the route for the first time. The inaugural service was greeted by Qantas ambassador and keen aviator John Travolta, who was replete in his carefully tailored Qantas captain’s uniform. He told travelbulletin he was thrilled to welcome the A380, with Qantas the first superjumbo operator into DFW – followed two days later by Emirates which now operates daily A380 flights between Dubai and Dallas. The non-stop flight time from Sydney to DFW is 14 hours and 50 minutes, while the longer return service takes about 15 and a half hours to travel the 13,805km sector.
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