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:
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its surrounding metropolitan area in California, United States. LAX is located in the Westchester neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, 18 miles southwest of Downtown Los Angeles, with the commercial and residential areas of Westchester to the north, the city of El Segundo to the south and the city of Inglewood to the east. LAX is the closest airport to the Westside and the South Bay.
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. It is the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and Oceania. Qantas is the world's third-oldest continuously operating airline, being founded in November 1920. Qantas is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
Air New Zealand Limited is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline has been a member of the Star Alliance since 1999.
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, "BA 222" is a British Airways service from Nashville, Tennessee 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, "WN 417" flies from Jacksonville to Baltimore to Oakland to Los Angeles on Southwest Airlines. 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.
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport — colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport — is an international airport in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the suburb of Mascot. The airport is owned by Sydney Airport Holdings. 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 Air New Zealand. Situated next to Botany Bay, the airport has three runways. Sydney Kingsford Int'l Airport covers 907 hectares of land.
Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an airline based in Australia. It is one of two active airlines to use the Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet size. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as Virgin Blue, with two aircraft on a single route. It suddenly found itself as a major airline in Australia's domestic market after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001. The airline has since grown to directly serve 32 cities in Australia, from hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Faa'a 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 is a Chilean multinational airline based in Santiago and one of the founders of the LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline holding company in Latin America. Its main hub is Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, with secondary hubs in São Paulo, Lima, Bogotá, Quito, Guayaquil and Asunción.
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 January 2024, they are the 11th 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.
Qantas operates a fleet of Airbus A330, Airbus A380, Boeing 737 and Boeing 787 making a total of 125 aircraft. This list excludes subsidiaries Jetstar, QantasLink and Qantas Freight.
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.
