American Airlines to begin Brisbane flights in October
Brisbane will also see the debut of American’s all-new Flagship Suite business class.
By Chris Ashton, February 2 2024
American Airlines will begin daily flights between Brisbane and Dallas Fort Worth as the Oneworld member and Qantas partner brings new competition to local skies.
What’s promoted as a “seasonal service” for the US winter will take off from DFW on October 27, 2024 and run through to late March 2025 – and it’ll be the longest nonstop flight in the airline’s network by distance and average around 15 hours from gate-to-gate.
It’s fitting, then, that Brisbane will also be among the first destinations to debut American’s all-new Boeing 787-9 Flagship Suites business class.
American Airlines' new Boeing 787 Flagship Suites business class.
Each of the 51 Flagship Suites sports a sliding door, additional personal space and storage nooks, plus a bevy of power options including USB-C and wireless charging.
As a halfway point to transforming into a lie-flat bed, American claims its Flagship Suites convert into a relaxed “chaise lounge position” – which to us sounds like marketing-speak for what other airlines and seat-makers invariably refer to as Lazy Z, sun-lounge or deckchair mode.
American Airlines' new Boeing 787 Flagship Suites business class.
The Flagship Suites will also be retrofitted to the older Boeing 777-300ER fleet and replace the 777’s first class suites with an enlarged and upgraded business class cabin.
American Airlines' new Boeing 787 Flagship Suites business class.
The Boeing 787-9s have also been tipped as carrying 32 new premium economy seats, each with headrest ‘wings’ for privacy, extra storage areas, larger video screens and a swing-down footrest.
American Airlines' new Boeing 787 premium economy.
The American Airlines flight will depart Dallas Forth Worth at 10:35pm to reach Brisbane at 6:30am two days later; the return leg will be wheels-up from Brisbane at 10am, arriving back at DFW at 8.20am.
However, American Airlines advises that “DFW-BNE roundtrip schedules will operate at different times on Tuesdays and Saturdays (departing DFW) for the full season due to operational requirements. The schedule may also vary from month-to-month (TBD).”
Tickets are expected to go on sale on Monday February 5.
Brisbane has long been on American’s wishlist, and while Dallas Fort Worth isn’t a major drawcard in itself, the airport’s role as American Airlines’ hub provides plenty of onwards flights across the US, especially the east coast – both up to New York and down to the cruise capital of Miami.
As a Qantas partner, expect to see seats available in business class, premium economy and economy using Qantas Points – and, down the track, the ability to use Qantas Points for upgrades on American Airlines.
Ahead of the journey to Dallas Fort Worth, eligible AA passengers will have access to Qantas’ Brisbane International Lounge.
Rival US carrier United Airlines, which is of course a partner with Virgin Australia, has also been making inroads to Queensland with flights to San Francisco, while Qantas maintains flights to Los Angeles.
American Airlines already connects Sydney to Los Angeles, while Qantas offers flights to DFW from both Sydney and Melbourne.
Additional reporting by David Flynn
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
04 Aug 2017
Total posts 12
It will be interesting to see what schedule AA put on this route, considering that QF's timings are not attractive at all...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Nov 2013
Total posts 475
Timings and aircraft...
This is a great move by American - being able to direct home from Dallas is very attractive
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Aug 2014
Total posts 157
Wow that's big news. Is this part of Qld's AAIF fund? Surely it's a JV with Qantas? Also their aircraft are not heavily premium configured. Must be a lot of blocked economy seats westbound?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 382
Don’t the newer B787’s have improved range due to engineering refinements ?
01 Apr 2014
Total posts 116
B787-9 has 400nm+ range up its sleeve on DFW-BNE, so it has enough legs to get there with a full load unless there are stronger than usual enroute winds forecast. It's also about 600nm shorter than DFW-MEL, or PER-LHR on the QF B787-9, so BNE should be fine for a full load ex-DFW most of the year.
The weight difference on premium heavy aircraft is negligible, as the extra complexity and size of a business seat weighs similar to multiple Economy seats that would otherwise fit in the same footprint. Also, whilst a premium heavy seating configuration may have less pax, it is also offset by the extra baggage allowance compared to Economy. It tends to even out in most cases, but not sure on the specifics of the AA fleet.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Nov 2013
Total posts 475
Not weight constrained in summer months at either end?
18 Mar 2022
Total posts 13
Excellent news and arriving in at around 8.30 am is a sensible time for onward journeys.
25 Feb 2022
Total posts 21
Excellent news and great destination. Would be good if they could do a few via Hawaii, Qantas has a crap service to Hawaii and it is via Sydney!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Aug 2015
Total posts 48
That's because Sydney is the best ;)
Agreed, more options is best for everyone... the leaving LAX near midnight to return home two days later at 6am isnt pleasant.
25 Jun 2018
Total posts 45
Americans mangle the english language yet again; chaise lounge = half french half English. Chaise Longue is the correct term.
Let’s check the price before praising the new route by AA. QF price into DFW is outrageous.
QF
03 Jul 2015
Total posts 22
Code share with QF?
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2555
One would expect so, given Qantas also whacks a QF4111 flight number onto American's SYD-LAX service, but we won't know for certain until sometime Monday when these AA flights go on sale.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
07 Dec 2015
Total posts 52
Great news but I thought DFW was an odd choice? Mentioned timings and hard product would be far better than what QF currently offer to LAX ex BNE. What’s the soft product like on AA?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2017
Total posts 325
DFW is AA's super hub. Plenty of connections through DFW ex-BNE and vice-versa for those not on the West Coast trying to get to Queensland.
13 Jul 2016
Total posts 3
Hi ET - Travel weekly here published the flight timetable for this route
BNE 1000 > DFW 0820
DFW 2235 > BNE 0630 (+2 days)
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2555
Hi anth0888 – yeah, that just came through late from AA/BNE and I've updated the article with this.
04 Nov 2019
Total posts 4
Sorry to be dour, but as an American Airlines Platinum Pro member, don’t expect much in service on this very long haul flight. The flight attendants will mostly be high seniority and only work one to two times a month to keep their benefits. Service will be marginal at best so they can get back into the galley and chat. When I take their DFW OGG service to Hawaii in Business Class, you usually have to get up and beg the flight attendants to fill your wine glass again.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Aug 2015
Total posts 48
You in Economy or Business ?
04 Nov 2019
Total posts 4
Still waiting on Qantas’s decision to start ORD to BRISBANE as that was scheduled to start before Covid.
26 Sep 2023
Total posts 6
Noooooooooo every time QF has attempted ORD it has unleashed misery.
They were going to intro ORD as a tag on MEL-LAX in 2001 and then 9/11 saw it cancelled (I'm not sure if it ever operated).
BNE-ORD of course was before COVID19.
If bad luck comes in 3s, QF need to keep their attention firmly on LAX, DFW and JFK.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
20 Jul 2012
Total posts 15
Great if you like sitting in complete darkness for the entire flight.
American Airlines crews have a habit of locking the windows at maximum darkness, regardless of time or distance.
The airline issued an instruction to staff not to do this but they still continue to do so.
Until they cease this practice, then I wouldn't consider this option.
13 Apr 2020
Total posts 10
Seasonal, 2 days per week, schedule changes, American Airlines... erm
Etihad - Etihad Guest
11 May 2018
Total posts 5
AA service culture is not QF service culture.
I agree with jad01's comment regarding AA flight attendants darkening the windows on planes like the Dreamliner that give them this ability. I assume they do this because a darkened cabin is a lower-maintenance cabin, which gives them more time to talk very loudly with each other in the galley about how much they hate various aspects of their jobs.
I also agree with Gym's comment regarding AA's surfeit of surly flight attendants who are seriously put out if you ask them for a glass of wine or a cup of tea or anything else at any point other than during scheduled drink/meal service. Somewhere, there are desiccated skeletons sitting in AA seats with their call buttons still pressed since 1950.
The absolute minimum effort is what you should expect from AA flight attendants, and then you can be pleasantly surprised when you encounter someone who provides at least QF level of service quality. A couple months ago, I flew QF on DFW-MEL (or maybe SYD) and had a FA who obviously came from an American carrier and was adjusting to Qantas. Wisely, Qantas had put him on a plane otherwise staffed entirely with Australia-based FAs who were all professionally doing their thing without making anyone feel like they were an imposition. He'll probably adjust quickly. Sad to say that sort of cultural adjustment wouldn't happen if the QF planes were staffed entirely with FAs who had all come from US carriers to join Qantas.
If you enjoy bashing QF service quality, you will love bashing AA service quality.
As for me, for USA-Australia flights, I'll stick with DFW on QF, but ORD on QF would be perfect for me.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on American Airlines to begin Brisbane flights in October