Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) is mulling launching the maiden direct route between Australia and Chicago O'Hare, to be operated out of Brisbane International, CEO Alan Joyce has told Bloomberg. The Australian carrier is also eyeing Seattle Tacoma International and Dallas/Fort Worth services out of Brisbane as it mulls converting its forty-five options for B787-9s.
The remarks came in the wake of the inauguration of Qantas' Perth International-London Heathrow service, the first-ever direct route connecting Australia and Europe.
Both Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth are American Airlines hubs. The carriers have recently re-applied for an antitrust immunity for a transpacific joint-venture, with Joyce expecting a decision within six months. This could pave a way for new US services by Qantas to be launched by year-end.
Qantas already serves Dallas/Fort Worth directly out of Sydney Kingsford Smith. It is one of only two US cities not located on the West Coast which sees direct Australian traffic, with the other being Houston Intercontinental served out of Sydney by United Airlines.
For its part, Seattle is a hub for Alaska Airlines, Qantas' code-share partner.
Qantas, which already operates four B787-9s, is planning to take delivery of a further four units of the type during the course of 2018. The aircraft will be used to launch a new Melbourne Tullamarine-San Francisco route and will replace the B747-400s on the Brisbane-Los Angeles International-New York JFK route. The Australian flag carrier has not announced its decision regarding the retirement of the B747-400s yet but may do so later this year. The potential retirement of the Boeing quadjets will most likely be associated with new orders for B787-9s.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Qantas currently operates four B747-400s which are on average 20 years old and six B747-400(ER)s, on average 15 years old.
Joyce has added that further European direct flights are possible in the future if the load factor on the carrier's Perth-London route is satisfactory. Similarly to this recently launched route, new European routes would depend on high-yielding premium traffic.
In the long-term, Qantas is planning to launch direct European services out of either Sydney or Melbourne pending a development of new ultra-long-range aircraft by either Airbus or Boeing. Joyce has not excluded an entirely new cabin layout for such services, including possibly converting a part of the cargo hold into sleeping berths.