Flying Sydney to Panama direct - will this route ever happen?

16 replies

anthony watts

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 29 Mar 2015

Total posts 15

From 1964 to 1974 Qantas flew a 707 on th3 fiesta route: Sydney - Nadi - Papeete - Acapulco- Mexico city - Nassau (Bahamas) - Bermuda- London.
Anybody able to advise what loads were like? Given it lasted 10 years must have been good!
This would be a very interesting route if flown today, opening up central America and Carribean to the Pacific!

My grandparents flew this route quite often. I think it was branded the " hibiscus route" or something similar. As far as i recall they did not take it right through to london, just to either Apapulco or Nassau where they had friends. Doesnt help much with your "load" question...!

kimshep

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 11 Oct 2014

Total posts 412

From 1964 to 1974 Qantas flew a 707 on th3 fiesta route: Sydney - Nadi - Papeete - Acapulco- Mexico city - Nassau (Bahamas) - Bermuda- London.
Anybody able to advise what loads were like? Given it lasted 10 years must have been good!
This would be a very interesting route if flown today, opening up central America and Carribean to the Pacific!

My grandparents flew this route quite often. I think it was branded the " hibiscus route" or something similar. As far as i recall they did not take it right through to london, just to either Apapulco or Nassau where they had friends. Doesnt help much with your "load" question...!


The route was officially called the 'Fiesta' route by Qantas.

Flown in vastly different times, when international travel by jet was hugely expensive and most destinations on this route were routinely regarded as 'exotic'. During the 50's. 60's and 70's the native cliff 'free-divers' of Acapulco made this city a true international 'jet-set' high spot, eclipsing even Mexico City as a destination. These days, simply not the case. ACA is not on most people's bucket list, whereas the 1968 Mexico Olympics hoisted MEX profile as a destination and with allied population growth, MEX has become a pre-eminent destination.

Bear in mind also that when QF flew this route, Qantas was a 100% Government-owned entity. Figures that we often take for granted (such as load, profitability, CASM, RASM etc) were generally not available to the industry at large. No public disclosure through published, publicly available 'Annual Reports' and not even any internet to form a base of interested parties.

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