More options to avoid LAX: Strategic Airlines plans Brisbane-Honolulu flights

Strategic Airlines will be the third Australian airline to fly to the USA if its application to the American Department of Transport for permission to fly Brisbane-Honolulu is approved.

The airline, widely rumoured to be considering a rename to "Air Australia", had already won approval from authorities on this side of the Pacific, but the extra filings at the US DOT require more specific route information.

Strategic is planning to launch its flights as early as September if it gains approval, with additional Airbus A330 aircraft on the way to boost its fleet.

Flights from Brisbane to Honolulu will be a welcome additional option for Queenslanders heading to the USA on business -- as will the lower fares that additional competition is likely to drive.

Currently, the only trans-Pacific route served from Brisbane is to Los Angeles LAX, with flights on Qantas and Virgin Australia's V Australia arm.

By connecting through Honolulu, additional options for one-stop connections to numerous cities in the USA and Canada are available, from Vancouver to New York to Houston. (We've already reported on connecting through Honolulu as an option with Hawaiian Airlines.)

And with LAX one of the airports that business travellers try to avoid, connections through Honolulu's relaxed and informal airport are definitely a mark in the plus column.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.