The Queensland Government and Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) secured a non-stop flight between San Francisco (SFO) and Brisbane (BNE) with United Airlines, through the Attracting Aviation Investment Fund for USD 200 million.
United will fly three times a week (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) on Boeing 787-9 aircraft beginning October 28, joining five other routes operated by the company:
- San Francisco (SFO) – Melbourne (MEL): 7 weekly flights on Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
- San Francisco (SFO) – Sydney (SYD): 7 weekly flights on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Melbourne (MEL): 7 weekly flights on Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD): 7 weekly flights on Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
- Houston (IAH) – Sydney (SYD): 7 weekly flights on Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
“United has never flown direct to Queensland. The airline has more than 100 million loyal members and is the largest and longest serving U.S. airline in the Australian market,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Data obtained by Aviacionline through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development indicates that from June 2018 to June 2019, United Airlines transported 532,443 passengers between the United States and Australia, with an occupancy factor of 80.7% and 16,678 tons of cargo in 361 air operations, being the largest American airline in the region.
San Francisco is an important hub for United with direct connectivity to 80 North American cities.
From Brisbane, United customers will be able to easily connect to nearly 20 other cities within Australia thanks to the airline’s new partnership with Virgin Australia.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the deal with United Airlines would inject $73 million into the economy.
“We are aggressively pursuing new direct flights to our key tourism destinations to drive visitation and support local jobs. That’s what our Attracting Aviation Investment Fund is designed to do.”
Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said the deal is a game-changer for the tourism industry, with the potential to add around 80,000 additional seats annually in and out of Queensland.
“Brisbane Airport is the gateway to Australia and offers 24/7 operations and direct connections to 53 domestic destinations,” said Gert-Jan de Graanaff. “Given that Brisbane Airport receives more than 75% of all international arrivals to Queensland, securing United is good news for tourism and hospitality businesses from Coolangatta to the Cape.”
Currently, Brisbane is served by 20 airlines operating international flights to 30 U.S. and Asia Pacific destinations.
