OREANDA-NEWS. Qantas today welcomed its inaugural A380 service from Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney, offering travellers from US the ultimate flying experience on the world's longest route.

Qantas Executive Manager International Sales Stephen Thompson said the introduction of the A380 on the route would lead to greater opportunities for both tourism and for trade.

“We've already carried more than 300,000 passengers on the Dallas/Fort Worth route and we're confident the introduction of the A380 will attract more travellers and introduce more Americans to Sydney and Australia,” said Mr Thompson

“The new service will mean an additional seat capacity of more than 10 per cent each week and we will continue to work with our partners to boost visitor numbers from this important market.

“We will also continue to broaden our reach across the US with our partner American Airlines, who connect travellers to our services from more than 100 destinations across North America, with each major city less than four hours from Dallas/Fort Worth.”

“The Qantas flight schedule for Americans travelling to Australia has never been better. We now offer more than 40 return services per week between the States and Australia, with half of those operated by A380 aircraft,” added Mr Thompson.

The introduction of non-stop A380 services from Dallas/Fort Worth direct to Sydney means Americans can now choose A380 services from two US hubs, Dallas/Fort Worth or Los Angeles.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer, Sandra Chipchase said she was delighted that the Qantas A380 service, proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW had arrived in Sydney this morning.

“The extra services will see more American visitors arrive in Sydney each year to experience our pristine beaches, vibrant and diverse events, Aussie hospitality and our State's outstanding food and wine experiences,” Ms Chipchase said.

“To create awareness of Sydney and NSW and the new non-stop services that will bring them here, Qantas and Destination NSW have worked together on an integrated marketing campaign, which includes digital and out-of-home media in the US.

“The US is one of our top five key inbound visitor markets. In the past financial year 317,000 visitors from the United States contributed approximately USD 546 million into the NSW economy, so the more we can do to encourage them to visit Sydney and NSW the better,” she said.

The new service will now offer private First class suites on the route for the first time. Customers will also enjoy lie-flat Skybeds in Business, an exclusive Premium Economy cabin and a spacious and comfortable Economy seat.

The state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system offers on-demand access to over 150 movies, 500 television selections, 1000 audio CDs, 80 PC style games, as well as a selection 20 radio channels and arrival guides. USB and PC power ports are also available in all cabins.

QF8 departed Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday 29 September at 1026 local time and arrived at Sydney International Airport at 0626 local time today.

Qantas will operate the A380 service six times per week (every day except Tuesdays).

This new service comes in a year of the 60th anniversary of Qantas services between Australia and the US. In 1954, Qantas operated a Super Constellation from Sydney to San Francisco - its first trans-Pacific route to North America.