Skift Take
Qantas is ready to diversify its map and serve more U.S. and Asian cities with a new plane order.
The days when most Qantas travelers to the U.S. arrived in Los Angeles to connect on to other points across the country are numbered. The airline has ordered two-dozen new long-range planes for the Asia and U.S. markets that will see it add more nonstop flights to both regions, overflying traditional gateways like Los Angeles.
In other words, there's more Dallas-Fort Worth or Seattle flying in Qantas' future than Los Angeles.
The group on Thursday unveiled an order for 12 new Airbus A350-1000s and 12 new Boeing 787s. The planes, which will not begin arriving until at least the middle of 2026, will replace Qantas' older Airbus A330s and A380s. They will also be used for new international growth.
The big change, however, will be how Qantas flies these longer routes to the U.S. and Asia. In 2019, the airline served four cities in the U.S.: Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, according to Cirium Diio schedules.
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