Qantas: Boeing 787 Dreamliners will debut on route to Los Angeles

A rendering of Qantas' new livery on a Boeing Dreamliner 787-9.
(Photo - Qantas Airways)

Qantas made a splash on Sunday by announcing it would use its Boeing 787 Dreamliners to start the first-ever nonstop service between Australia and Europe in March 2018. Before that, however, the Australian carrier’s new Dreamliners will make their debut on a route to the United States.

Qantas said on Tuesday that its first 787-9 Dreamliners will enter service late next year on its route connecting Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia.

The carrier’s 236-seat 787s will be deployed on the route starting Dec. 15, 2017, flying between the cities six times a week. Seats for the Dreamliner service will go on sale on Dec. 25, 2016.

Qantas’ expanded Dreamliner schedule will replace the twice-weekly 747 service it currently operates on that route and will be in addition to the one daily Melbourne-Los Angeles round-trip Qantas flies on its Airbus A380 superjumbo jets. With the schedule adjustment, Qantas will now fly 13 round-trip flights on the route – up from the current nine.

“The Dreamliner is a game-changing aircraft that opens up a new era for Qantas, and it’s been designed with passenger comfort in mind,” Gareth Evans, Qantas’ international chief, says in a statement.

“The aircraft itself offers passengers larger windows, a smoother ride and better air quality to reduce jetlag,” Evans adds. “In Economy there’s more room and plenty of storage. In Business, our suites will offer a fully flat bed and direct aisle access. We’ll be unveiling our Premium Economy in the first quarter of next year and it will set new standards for the industry.”

Dreamliners are already flying in the fleet of Qantas' low-cost subisidary Jetstar, but they have yet to begin flying for Qantas itself. The carrier will begin taking the first of the eight Dreamliners it has on order next year.

(Ben Mutzabaugh - USA Today in the Sky)