Qantas Dreamliner boost

QANTAS stepped up the expansion of its Boeing 787-9 services over the weekend, launching daily Dreamliner flights from Brisbane to Los Angeles and onward to New York, as well as its first direct offering between Melbourne and San Francisco.

The carrier has now based four of its new 787s in Brisbane as it begins to replace ageing 747s on key routes and is set to operate flights from the Queensland capital to other points starting with Hong Kong from Dec.

“The Dreamliner also opens up the potential to drive tourism to Queensland over the long term given the increased range of the 787,” said the ceo of Qantas Group Alan Joyce.

“There are a number of new destinations we’re considering for new direct services from Brisbane, including Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco in the US, as well as Vancouver and cities in Asia,” he said.

The carrier’s new MEL-SFO services now operate four times a week aboard 787s, departing on Wed, Thu, Sat and Sun.

Qantas International ceo Alison Webster said the direct flights would help connect Melbourne’s start-up sector with California’s Silicon Valley.

“This will reduce travel times by at least two hours which means less time in the air and more time to explore or work in San Francisco,” she said.

“Travel between the US and Australia continues to grow – with a 13% increase in visitors to Australia in the past year.”