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Brisbane will become the second Australian destination for Delta Air Lines, after Sydney, with the commencement of a Los Angeles service later this year.
Starting 4 December, Delta will launch three weekly flights between Brisbane and LAX using 306-seater A350-900s. This will give Brisbane services from four major North American carriers – Delta, United, American, and Air Canada – and boost its US capacity to 144 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Brisbane will see 34 flights per week from North America as of December, with five airlines (including Qantas) travelling to four North American hubs: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The airport will now be serviced by 26 international airlines connecting to 30 destinations.
“With this addition of Brisbane, Delta’s upcoming winter schedule will offer our customers up to 17 weekly flights between the U.S. and Australia,” said Joe Esposito, Delta’s senior vice president of network planning.
“This marks our most extensive schedule to the South Pacific to date, and as we build our presence in the region, we know our customers will enjoy the enhanced experience consistently provided by Delta.”
The new Delta service will be supported by the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF), with Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick saying it will deliver more than 271,000 seats over three years.
“Our Government‘s deal with Delta Air Lines ensures Americans can now fly directly to the Sunshine State using any of the three largest airlines in the world,” he said.
“This deal with Delta is estimated to bring 114,000 people to Queensland over three years who will spend up to $208 million in Queensland shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and enjoying our world-class experiences.
“The increased services should also put downward pressure on airline prices while providing more opportunities for Queensland’s exporters to tap into the world’s largest economy.”
Tourism Minister Michael Healy added that the US was Queensland’s third-largest visitor market in 2019.
“The US also represents the 10th largest international student cohort in Queensland so this announcement will help us attract even more students and their families back for extended stays,” he said.
“Part of the funding through AAIF will go towards a Tourism and Events Queensland-led marketing campaign to promote the Delta Air Lines flights, while Delta’s service agreement with Rex will allow passengers to make seamless domestic connections.”
Delta began an interline service agreement with Rex in late 2022 after Virgin Australia switched its codeshare partnership to United, while Qantas codeshares with American Airlines.
