BY JAMES WILKINSON
Qantas has commenced services from Sydney to the heart of Texas, Dallas Fort Worth, in a move designed to improve the flying kangaroo’s East Coast United States network through American Airlines’ largest hub.
The inaugural Sydney-Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) flight took off on May 16 and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the services – which return to Sydney via Brisbane – would deliver unprecedented access to North America for Australians
“This new service takes Qantas customers into the heart of the United States, with a wide range of options for onward travel,” Joyce said.
“Dallas and Fort Worth are attractive destinations in their own right, combining rapid economic growth with Texas’ rich heritage. However, what sets DFW apart are the connections its world-class airport provides to other major cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“This makes it the perfect platform for Qantas to develop its relationship with our oneworld partner American Airlines, beginning with a significant expansion of codesharing to capitalise on DFW’s hub location,” he said.
Joyce said the route would also be beneficial for the tourism industry in Australia.
“There is great potential to develop inbound tourism to Australia, particularly in Queensland and NSW,” he said.
“The launch of a new route is always an exciting occasion and we couldn’t be more pleased to be touching down in DFW today (May 16).”
The new services have been welcomed by Tourism Australia’s Managing Director Andrew McEvoy.
“The US is a key market for Australian tourism, delivering close to half a million visitors each year and around AUD$2.1 billion in expenditure,” he said.
“Tourism Australia’s goal is to grow overnight expenditure of US travellers to as much as $5.5 billion by 2020 – more than double what it is now – and the new Qantas services will help us in achieving this potential.”