American and Qantas Boost Transpacific Services to Australia
American Airlines and Qantas are deepening their transpacific alliance with a series of new and expanded flights between the United States and Australia, highlighted by the introduction of a Los Angeles–Brisbane route. Beginning December 5, American will operate three weekly Boeing 787-9 services between Los Angeles International and Brisbane Airport through January 2026, marking its second link between the two cities. The airline’s winter-season flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to Brisbane, which launched last October, will be joined by the new Los Angeles connection to meet rising leisure and business demand.
Qantas is also ramping up capacity on its U.S. network. From December 3 through January 2026, the carrier will elevate its Dallas/Fort Worth–Melbourne schedule to daily departures, reflecting strong market appetite for direct connections. In addition, starting in January, Qantas will deploy its flagship Airbus A380 on all Sydney–Dallas/Fort Worth rotations, replacing the current Boeing 787-9 equipment and offering more premium seating and onboard amenities.
These enhancements build on Qantas’s existing year-round Brisbane–Los Angeles service, a 7,163-mile sector that the carrier launched in 2011. Delta Air Lines also competes on that route during the northern winter, having inaugurated its own seasonal service in December 2024. Queensland government estimates at the time projected that Delta’s entry would generate A$208 million in economic benefit over three years.
Together, American and Qantas now offer 28,600 two-way weekly seats on routes between the U.S. and Australia, accounting for a combined 54.5 percent market share in the Oneworld alliance’s transpacific segment. United Airlines holds 28.2 percent of capacity, Delta 8.2 percent, Hawaiian Airlines 5.3 percent and Jetstar 3.8 percent, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.
The partners’ network expansion coincides with Qantas’s broader international growth plans out of its Perth hub. On December 7, Qantas will inaugurate three-times-weekly flights between Perth and Johannesburg, followed by three weekly Perth–Auckland services on December 8. Both routes will operate with Airbus A330 aircraft, further strengthening Western Australia’s air links with major global cities.
American’s new Los Angeles–Brisbane flights will operate as flight AA173 departing LAX at 23:15 local time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, arriving in Brisbane at 07:05 two days later after crossing the International Date Line. The return service, AA174, will leave Brisbane at 12:15, landing at LAX at 16:30 the same day. Qantas’s additional Dallas/Fort Worth–Melbourne flights will complement existing partner-operated schedules, while the Sydney–Dallas/Fort Worth A380 deployment will see QF7 and QF8 feature up to 14 First Suites, 64 Business Suites and 371 Economy seats.
These joint moves underscore American and Qantas’s commitment to meeting surging demand for direct, one-stop and codeshare itineraries between North America and Australia. By aligning schedules, fleets and loyalty benefits, the carriers aim to provide travelers with seamless connections, broader route choices and enhanced onboard experiences across one of the world’s longest commercial air corridors.
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