Qantas Flights 7 and 8
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Qantas Flight 7 (QF7/QFA7) and Qantas Flight 8 (QF8/QFA8) are flights operated by Australian airline
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
between
Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
and
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...
, which, from 2013 to 2016, were the longest regularly scheduled non-stop
commercial flight Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
s in the world. Today they are currently the 11th longest regularly scheduled non-stop commercial flights in the world as measured by
great-circle distance The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance along a great circle. It is the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere, measured along the surface of the sphere (as opposed to a ...
—, which is over one third of the distance around Earth.


Background

Qantas and
American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
(AA) were two of the co-founding members of the
Oneworld Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
airline alliance An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within c ...
, which was launched in 1999. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has long been American's headquarters and largest hub and is centrally located in the United States. Dallas is less than four hours flying time from all cities in the continental United States and AA serves more of these airports from DFW than from Los Angeles, Qantas's main gateway to the United States. Los Angeles is also an AA hub, but is significantly smaller in terms of departures and destinations and located 4–5 hours flying time from most east coast cities. In 2012, American operated nearly 500 departing flights daily from DFW, but fewer than 100 from Los Angeles. Dallas would be a logical destination for Qantas to serve, but it only had six aircraft with the range needed to reach Dallas and they were needed for the Melbourne-Los Angeles and Sydney-Buenos Aires routes. The Boeing 747-400ER has a range of , although winds aloft and fuel needed for holding can trim that figure. Qantas had studied the feasibility of the Dallas route for years. At the time of the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, Qantas' Sydney-San Francisco service became unprofitable, while an
open skies agreement The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberalis ...
between Australia & the US flooded the market with more capacity. In the meantime, the Boeing 747-400ER aircraft were replaced with A380s on the Melbourne-LA route. According to Qantas CEO
Alan Joyce Alan Joyce (born 21 October 1942) is a former Australian rules footballer who after playing 49 games for Hawthorn became a premiership winning coach for the club. Originally from Glen Iris, Joyce played in the ruck for Hawthorn, and ultimate ...
: "a lot of things clicked on this and it made absolute sense for us to devote aircraft resources to this destination." By flying to Dallas, Qantas can offer passengers a 70-minute connection to domestic flights, which means onwards connections to cities like New York City, Chicago, Boston, and Miami can be up to two hours faster than transiting through Los Angeles. At launch, Qantas had codeshare agreements on 54 AA flights from DFW to cities in the US, Canada, & Mexico. When announcing the launch of A380 service, Qantas notes that DFW offers more than 30 codeshare destinations beyond the network available from Los Angeles. According to Qantas in 2014, the most popular destinations for connections with QF7 are
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Houston, Dallas and New York's
LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...
.


History


747 service to London and Singapore

In March 1974, Qantas launched Flights 7 outbound and 8 returning, between Sydney and
London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...
, via
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. Initially, Qantas operated the flight pair three times each week using Boeing 747-200Bs, with a journey time of approximately 20 hours. The two flights were promoted as a faster alternative to the daily flight pair of Flight 1 outbound and Flight 2 inbound, also then operated by 747-200B aircraft, but with two or three stops between London and Australia. At the time, Qantas claimed that Flight 8 was the fastest service from London to Sydney of any airline. During the 1980s, Qantas developed hubs on the
Kangaroo Route The Kangaroo Route refers to air routes flown between Australia and the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere. The route by definition found its name following the unique mode of travel of the kangaroo, as planes historically achieved the ...
in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and later
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
. By the mid-1980s, Melbourne/Sydney to London flights had reverted to a daily Flight 1/Flight 2 service only, and Qantas was operating other Australia to Europe services, hubbed through Singapore or Bangkok, to Amsterdam, Athens, Belgrade, Frankfurt, Manchester and Rome. Under that hubbing arrangement, Flight 7/Flight 8 was cut back to four days per week Perth to Singapore service, still operated by 747-200Bs. Qantas eventually abandoned its hub in Singapore, after entering into an alliance with
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...
. Under the new alliance, Qantas operated flights between Australia and London via
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
, which became a hub for Qantas/Emirates codeshare services to and from other destinations in Europe.


747 service to Dallas (2011–2014)

Qantas began operating the Sydney-Dallas route—designated Flight 7 outbound and Flight 8 returning—on 16 May 2011. The route was initially flown 4 times weekly, but was upgraded to daily service on 1 July 2012. Flight 7, from Sydney to Dallas, flew non-stop in 15 hr 25 min. Due to strong headwinds, Flight 8 could not be flown non-stop and flew from Dallas to
Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is the primary international airport serving Brisbane and South East Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, in total amounting to more than 22.7 million passeng ...
before returning to Sydney. Flights 7 & 8 were operated with a
Boeing 747-400ER The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...
aircraft from 2011 until 28 September 2014. When launched as a service to Dallas, Flight 7 was the longest regularly scheduled
non-stop flight A non-stop flight is a flight by an aircraft with no intermediate stops. History During the early age of aviation industry when aircraft range was limited, most flights were served in the form of milk run, aka there were many stops along th ...
by distance operated by a
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
and the third-longest regularly scheduled non-stop commercial flight by distance—behind Singapore Airlines Flights 21/22 (Newark-Singapore; 15,345 km) and Singapore Airlines Flights 37/38 (Los Angeles-Singapore; 14,114 km). However, unlike the Qantas Boeing 747-400ER, the Singapore Airlines flights were flown with
Airbus A340-500 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with ...
aircraft configured with an all-business class cabin that carried only 100 passengers. Qantas Flight 7 became the second-longest regularly-scheduled non-stop commercial flight by distance when Singapore Airlines stopped flying non-stop between Singapore & Los Angeles on 20 October 2013. The final Singapore Airlines flight from Newark to Singapore departed 23 November 2013, at which point Qantas Flight 7 became the longest regularly scheduled non-stop flight by distance. It held this distinction until 1 March 2016, when
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...
began a 14,203 km non-stop service, EK 448 and EK 449, between
Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and
Dubai, UAE Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.


Incidents

The route suffered some setbacks during the first two weeks of operation, which called into question its feasibility. On 21 May 2011, less than a week after commencing operations on the route, Qantas offloaded three containers of luggage in Dallas in order to reach Brisbane without the need to make an unplanned stop for fuel. Affected passengers waited 24 hours for their luggage to arrive via Los Angeles. Qantas claimed they were forced to make the decision "due to load restrictions as a result of unseasonably strong winds." On 23 May, Flight 7 was forced to divert to Houston because it lacked enough fuel to circle Dallas until thunderstorms—typical during summertime—cleared, resulting in a two-hour delay. Then on 30 May, Flight 8 made an unplanned stop in
Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...
, New Caledonia, when its pilots decided it was safer to stop and refuel there then continue on to Brisbane.


A380 service to Dallas (2014–2020)

In May 2014, Qantas announced that Flight 7 and Flight 8 would be operated by the
Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
beginning 29 September 2014, at which point Flight 8's intermediate stop in Brisbane would be terminated. Although frequency was reduced from seven to six flights per week, the larger capacity of the A380 results in an increase in weekly capacity on the route of more than ten percent. The A380s are configured into four classes, and brings the addition of first class to the route. The first A380 aircraft to operate Flight 7/8 sported a special livery: the kangaroo painted on the aircraft's
empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
(tail) wore a white
cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United S ...
and star-speckled blue
kerchief A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...
around its neck. The airplane also sported a commemorative seal with the tagline “G’Day Texas.” The hat and kerchief pay homage to the Dallas region's strong association with
cowboy culture Western lifestyle or cowboy culture is the lifestyle, or behaviorisms, of, and resulting from the influence of, the (often romanticized) attitudes, ethics and history of the American Western cowboy. In the present day these influences affect this s ...
and the red background, white kangaroo/hat, and star-speckled blue are suggestive of the
US flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...
. With the change in aircraft, Qantas became the first airline to operate an A380 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, although Emirates began the A380 to DFW just 2 days later. The following year on April 13, Qantas flight 7 diverted to Phoenix Sky Harbor because there were no available airports nearby and the weather in Dallas wasn't suitable for the plane. However, after a few hours at Phoenix, the weather at Dallas improved and departed Phoenix to continue onto Dallas.


COVID19 Pandemic Suspension (2020–2022)

Due in part to the global response to the
COVID19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, Qantas suspended most of their international flights in early 2020. QF7/QF8 was suspended in April 2020 until its resumption in February 2022. Qantas announced in their 3 year post-COVID19 recovery plan, that the A380 fleet was to remain grounded until 2023 at the earliest and "The Boeing 787-9 will become Qantas' international workhorse."


B787-9 service to Dallas (2022–present)

QF7/QF8 resumed on February 16, 2022 operated by 787-9s for all upcoming scheduled flights.


Flight

Qantas Flight 7 operates from
Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
near
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...
near the cities of
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Qantas Flight 8 is the return flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Sydney. Through a
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
with
American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
, these flights are marketed as American Airlines Flight 7261 (AA7261) and American Airlines Flight 7262 (AA7262), respectively. It is one of only two non-stop routes between Australia and a US city beyond the west coast (Los Angeles or San Francisco), the other being United flights 100 and 101, which operate between Houston and Sydney. The flights originally operated six times weekly (every day except Tuesday). but moved to daily flights from April 2016 The A380 aircraft initially deployed on this route are configured in a four-class seating with a 14-seat first class cabin, a 64-seat business class cabin, a 35-seat premium economy cabin, and a 371-seat economy class cabin. Because of the difference in local times, Flight 7 departs Sydney, Flight 7 arrives in Dallas/Fort Worth, and Flight 8 departs Dallas/Fort Worth on the same day (local time). Since Flight 8 is both an overnight flight and crosses the
International Date Line The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...
, it arrives in Sydney two days after departing Dallas/Fort Worth. For example, Flights 7/8 departing Sydney on 16 February 2022 was scheduled to fly (local times in bold): Qantas Flight 8 from Dallas to Sydney—with a scheduled duration of 16 hours, 45 minutes—is one of the longest regularly scheduled non-stop
commercial flight Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
s by scheduled duration.


See also

*
Longest flights Over time, commercial airlines have established a number of scheduled ultra long-haul non-stop flights. These exceptionally long routes reduce the travel time between distant city pairs as well as the number of stops needed for passengers' trave ...
* Flight distance records *
Singapore Airlines Flights 21 and 22 Singapore Airlines Flights 21 and 22 (SQ21/SIA21 and SQ22/SIA22, respectively) are airline routes operated by Singapore Airlines between Changi Airport, Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark Liberty Intern ...


Notes


References

{{reflist Qantas Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Sydney Airport Commercial flights Aviation in the Pacific Ocean