Qantas and American Extend Partnership

10th Jun 2015

The alliance between Qantas Airways, Australia and the American Airlines Group has just become stronger this Tuesday with the announcement from the U.S. carrier of a direct L.A-Sydney flight.

In addition, the Australian airline will continue operating its Sydney-San Francisco service.

All of these are good news as Qantas-American Airlines alliance looks to shift from a joint venture to a revenue sharing arrangement.

Flights from Los Angeles to Sydney and between Sydney and San Francisco are scheduled to start in December this year. Thanks to them, air capacity between Australia and United States is expected to grow by 9 per cent.

Alan Joyce, Chief Executive Officer of Qantas said the following about Qantas-AA alliance and the new flights at the IATA meeting in Miami:

"We think that has the potential of increasing the demand drastically. We expect it to be a new generative market for us."

Joyce also added the Australian carrier expects the Silicon Valley tech boom to support its return to S.F. He also believes a lower Australia dollar will bring more American travelers to Australia.

L.A.-Sydney Daily, Sydney-S.F. on Peak Days

Starting December, American Airlines will fly between Los Angeles and Sydney every day. On the other side, Qantas will operate its Sydney to San Fran flights on peak days, but will increase the flight frequency to six flights per week by January next year.

Chairman and chief executive of American Airlines Doug Parker said:

"Strengthening those ties has provided us with a solid foundation to introduce American-operated flights into the Australian region."

Also, responding to a question whether this deal will decrease trans-Pacific fares, Parker said he does not believe "the capacity will take that long to absorb".

American Airlines has announced it will fly Boeing 777-300ER planes between Los Angeles and Sydney.

The two carriers have already asked the United States government to give them antitrust immunity for the services.