American Airlines will fly between the United States and Brisbane for the first time from October 2024.
The largest airline in the world, American Airlines will begin flying daily between Dallas Fort Worth in the US state of Texas and Brisbane from October 27.
Operating the route on a 244-seat Boeing 787-900, American Airlines will introduce 141,000 seats to Brisbane over three years, which is expected to bring in 62,000 international visitors who, in turn, are anticipated to spend up to $113 million.
“This is a massive coup for Queensland as we continue to rebuild international tourism after the COVID downturn,” said Queensland’s Deputy Premier, treasurer and trade and investment minister, Cameron Dick.
“This new American Airlines service also opens up so many new opportunities for Queensland businesses, both in Texas and across parts of the eastern and southern United States.
“Dallas Fort Worth is one of the top five largest and busiest airports in the world and its metroplex is home to 24 Fortune 500 company headquarters.”
The new connection will likely also increase Brisbane’s attractiveness to host incentives and corporate meetings out of Texas and the USA as well as providing another aviation option for Australian incentives travelling to North America.
The new flights were secured with help from the Queensland Government’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which has so far supported 28 services, bringing two million international seats to Queensland, with potential visitor spend of up to $1.75 billion annually.
The Brisbane to Dallas Forth Worth service will also be the longest flight to depart from Brisbane Airport, with a duration of 14 hours and 20 minutes.
“We’re excited to be further strengthening our Asia Pacific footprint as we add sunny Queensland to our growing list of destinations,” said Jose Freig, American Airlines’ vice president of international operations.
“With our new route and our partnership with Qantas, our customers in Brisbane will have access to our largest US hub…where they can connect to explore unexplored and much-loved destinations around the world, from sunny Miami to the deep south in Sao Paulo and beyond.”
The announcement of American Airlines’ flights for Brisbane follows news of several other additional international connections, including between Perth and the UAE, South Africa and Thailand, Melbourne and Turkey, and Darwin and Singapore.
Domestically, Bonza has also announced that it will begin a new route between the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and Launceston in Tasmania. Twice-weekly flights will begin from March 29, 2024.
