After more than two years of suspension, Qantas has resumed service between Brisbane and Los Angeles.
The Airbus 330-200, VH-EBM, took departure as flight QF55 at 10:26 a.m. local time and is scheduled to arrive at 6:30 a.m. on April 2nd.
The service will now operate five times each week, departing at 10 a.m. from Brisbane and 10:20 a.m. from Los Angeles International Airport.
“California is the greatest state source market for US tourists to Australia,” said Gert-Jan de Graaff, the airport’s chief executive. These services will allow travelers from the United States to begin their journey in Brisbane before using BNE’s enormous domestic network to explore the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsunday Islands, or other interstate locations.
“The easy road connections between BNE and the Gold and Sunshine coasts also make this the ideal Australian entry point for traveling Americans.”
With flights to Singapore, the route is only the second current Qantas route from Brisbane.
When New Zealand lifts its remaining COVID border restrictions, it will considerably extend its network, beginning with flights to Auckland on April 13 and then to Port Moresby, Christchurch, and Queenstown in the ensuing months.
Travelers must still show a negative COVID-19 test before departure and two quick antigen tests within a week of arrival, but they will not be required to isolate.
The news comes after Qantas said last month that it would begin flying a new route from Melbourne to Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, in December.
The four-times-weekly flights will be operated by 787-9s and will land at a location that offers frequent connections to key US cities such as New York, Chicago, and Miami.
The airline also announced that flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles will be increased from four to eight times weekly, effective immediately and that the A380 will be reintroduced on the route in December.
