The Australian airline Qantas launches its first international Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights from Queensland this weekend with a daily service to Los Angeles and onwards to New York from Brisbane.
The airlines says that four of the national carrier’s 787-9s are going to be based at Brisbane Airport, the service to Hong Kong is scheduled to start in December, with other destinations to follow in due course. Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, basing the Dreamliners at Brisbane would bring new jobs to the airport, “We’ll have 120 cabin crew and pilots based in Brisbane to operate the Dreamliner flights and a further 350 indirect jobs are expected to be created as a result,” he said.
“The Dreamliner also opens up the potential to drive tourism to Queensland over the long term given the increased range of the 787. There are a number of new destinations we’re considering for new direct services from Brisbane, including Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco in the US, as well as Vancouver and cities in Asia. The arrival of the Dreamliner is really exciting for our customers travelling from Brisbane. We’ve seen record customer satisfaction for the 787 on other parts of our network, from the next generation seats to the anti-jetlag measures. I’d like to acknowledge the support of the Queensland Government, Brisbane Airport Corporation and Tourism Australia for helping to make our new Brisbane Dreamliner base possible,” added Mr Joyce
Qantas last week announced its Brisbane International Lounge will be expanded to cater for an additional 100 guests and completed in early 2019 to support the growing demand for premium travel with the arrival of the Dreamliner.
