Operations
Aside from codeshares and alliances/partners, airlines on the Southern Cross Route (with seasonal destinations in italics) are the following:
Southern Cross Route is a term for passenger flights from Australasia (or Oceania) to Europe via the Western Hemisphere. The term was coined by British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines when they began services from Sydney to Vancouver in 1949. [1] [2] The route was extended to Europe following the signing of an air services agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom in 1957, [3] which saw Qantas flying from Sydney to London via Los Angeles and New York using Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations. [4] : 145 The name is in honor of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's historic 1928 flight in the aircraft Southern Cross . [5] The equivalent route running through the Eastern Hemisphere is known as the Kangaroo Route. [6]
Qantas operated on the route from 1949 — 1974, when it discontinued the London leg of the trip. [4] : 148 BOAC began flying to Australia via the South Pacific in April 1967. [7] Air New Zealand operated an Auckland–Los Angeles–London Heathrow from 1982 — 2020. [8] Other airlines to use the route include Air Tahiti Nui, French Bee, Air France, Air Canada, Aerolíneas Argentinas, and LAN Airlines.
Aside from codeshares and alliances/partners, airlines on the Southern Cross Route (with seasonal destinations in italics) are the following:
Qantas Airways Limited, or simply Qantas, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and Oceania. A founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, it is the only airline in the world that flies to all seven continents, with it operating flights to Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America and South America from its hubs in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane. It also flies to over 60 domestic destinations across Australia.
In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number. For example, QF9 is a Qantas Airways service from Perth, Australia to London Heathrow. A service is called "direct" if it is covered by a single flight number, regardless of the number of stops or equipment changes. For example, QF1 flies from Sydney to Singapore to London on Qantas Airways. A given flight segment may have multiple flight numbers on different airlines under a code-sharing agreement. Strictly speaking, the flight number is just the numerical part, but it is commonly used for the entire flight designator.
Ministro Pistarini International Airport, also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in Ezeiza in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport 22 kilometres (14 mi) south-southwest of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. Covering 3,475 hectares, it is one of two commercial airports serving Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, along with Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. Pistarini Airport is the country's largest international airport by number of passengers handled—85% of international traffic—and is a hub for international flights of Aerolíneas Argentinas, which operates domestic services from the airport as well. It has been operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A. since 1998.
Auckland International Airport is an international airport serving Auckland, the most populous city of New Zealand. It is the largest and busiest airport in the country, with over 16 million passengers served in the year ended August 2023. The airport is located near Māngere, a residential suburb, and Airport Oaks, a service-hub suburb 21 kilometres (13 mi) south of the Auckland city centre. It serves as the principal hub for Air New Zealand, and the New Zealand operating base for Jetstar.
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport — colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport — is an international airport serving Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 8 km (5.0 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the suburb of Mascot. Sydney Airport is the busiest airport in Oceania. It is the primary airport serving Sydney and is a primary hub for Qantas, as well as a secondary hub for Virgin Australia and Jetstar, and a focus city for Rex Airlines.
Faaʻa International Airport, also known as Tahiti International Airport, is the international airport of French Polynesia, located in the commune of Faaa, on the island of Tahiti. It is situated 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Papeete, the capital city of the overseas collectivity. It opened in 1960. Regional air carrier Air Tahiti and international air carrier Air Tahiti Nui are both based at the airport.
Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, total amounting to more than 22.7 million passengers who travelled through the airport in 2016. In 2016, an OAG report named Brisbane airport as the fifth-best performing large-sized airport in the world for on-time performance with 87% of arrivals and departures occurring within 15 minutes of their scheduled times, slipping from 88.31% the year before. It covers an area of 2,700 hectares, making the airport the largest in land area in all of Australia.
LATAM Airlines Chile, formerly known as LAN Chile and LAN Airlines, is a Chilean multinational airline based in Santiago and one of the founding companies of the LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline holding company in Latin America. Its main hub is in the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, with secondary hubs in São Paulo, Lima, Bogotá, Quito, Guayaquil and Asunción.
Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, doing business as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the airline Virgin Blue. Jetstar is part of Qantas' two brand strategy of having Qantas Airways for the premium full-service market and Jetstar for the low-cost market. As of June 2015, Jetstar was carrying 8.5% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia.
Air Tahiti Nui is the flag carrier of the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia, with its head office and daily operations office in Faaa, Tahiti. It operates long-haul flights from its home base at Faa'a International Airport, with a fleet consisting of four Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Tasman Empire Airways Limited (1940–1965), better known by its acronym TEAL, is the former name of Air New Zealand.
The Kangaroo Route is a term coined by Qantas, referring to the commercial passenger air routes flown between Australia and the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere.
A polar route is an aircraft route across the uninhabited polar ice cap regions. The term "polar route" was originally applied to great circle navigation routes between Europe and the west coast of North America in the 1950s.
Qantas is Australia's largest airline. Qantas was founded in Winton, Queensland, on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited by Paul McGinness, Sir Hudson Fysh and Sir Fergus McMaster, the latter of whom was chairman. Arthur Baird was employed as a chief aircraft engineer. McGinness left QANTAS for other interests, and Hudson Fysh remained with the company as General Manager & Managing Director. He retired as Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC, Chairman of QANTAS in 1966.
Qantas Flight 7 (QF7/QFA7) and Qantas Flight 8 (QF8/QFA8) are flights operated by Australian airline Qantas between Sydney Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which, from 2013 to 2016, were the longest regularly scheduled non-stop commercial flights in the world. As of July 2024, they are the 13th longest regularly scheduled non-stop commercial flights in the world as measured by great-circle distance—13,804 kilometres, which is over one third of the distance around Earth.
Over time, commercial airlines have established a number of scheduled ultra long-haul non-stop flights. These exceptionally long routes reduce the travel time between distant city pairs as well as the number of stops needed for passengers' travels, thereby increasing passenger convenience. For an airline, choosing to operate long flights can also build brand image as well as loyalty among a set of flyers. Therefore, competition among airlines to establish the longest flight occurs.
Air Tahiti Nui Flight 64 (TN64/THT64) was the world's longest domestic flight ever. It was created due to restrictions imposed by the United States over international flights in a context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The flight, operated by Air Tahiti Nui, was between Papeete in French Polynesia and Paris in metropolitan France, traversing a distance of 15,715 kilometres and taking 16 hours, 26 minutes. It was a domestic flight as French Polynesia forms an integral part of the French Republic.
The Wallaby Route or "Wallaby Service" is a term coined by Qantas, referring to the commercial passenger air route between Australia and South Africa.
