In July of last year, Qantas announced two new routes that would connect Brisbane to two new destinations that the Queensland airport hasn’t previously served. Qantas has quite an extensive route network to the US, and it continues to grow in demand and be highly profitable.
The two cities that were announced are San Francisco & Chicago, cities that are busy and very popular with Australians. The airline already flies to San Francisco from Sydney, but their Chicago route will be a brand new one.
You can now fly non-stop from Brisbane straight to the Bay Area onboard the 787-9 Dreamliner
Today was the first flight of QF59, and it’s currently en route to San Francisco. The new SFO service operates three times weekly, and the arrival/departure times are listed below:
QF59 – QF59 will depart Brisbane airport at 8:05 pm and arrive into San Francisco at 2:15 pm local time.
QF60 – QF60 will depart San Francisco airport at 10:15 and arrive into Brisbane airport at 6:00 am +2 local time.
Brisbane and San Francisco are now directly connected (Image – BAC)
Per Qantas International CEO, Tino La Spina:
“These new services will link Australian corporate and leisure travellers with two lynchpin capitals of commerce and culture in the United States. Customers will save around four hours travel time compared to the one-stop options currently on offer.
“From a US perspective, these direct routes put some of Australia’s most popular destinations like the Whitsundays just a one-stop flight away from a foggy San Francisco morning or a windy Chicago day, and that’s great news for Queensland and Australian tourism.”
Qantas 787-9
Per Brisbane Airport CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff:
“The US visitor market is currently the fourth largest for Brisbane Airport in terms of passenger numbers, with around 185,000 US passengers travelling through the airport last year.
“Relative to the size of the market and overall demand, Queensland has been under-served from the USA, so these direct Qantas flights will go some way to addressing pent-up demand
Onboard Qantas’ 787-9 Dreamliner
Qantas’ 787-9’s are fitted out with three cabins – business, premium and economy class. In the business class cabin, you’ll find 42 suites with a pitch of 46-inches and a width of 23-inches.
The premium economy cabin of the aircraft features 28 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration with each of having a pitch of 38-inches and a width of 20.5-inches.
The economy cabin of the aircraft holds 166 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, and they all feature a pitch of 32-inches and a width of 17.2-inches.
Click here to read my review of the Qantas 787-9 business class product
Qantas 787-9 Business Class
Overall
It’s great to see Qantas introduce a brand new route to the US, and I know it’s going to be very popular. Qantas does a great job of getting significant loads between Aus and the US and I don’t think these routes will be any different.
Will you be taking the new San Francisco service?
