Qantas does Vegas direct

This December, Qantas will become the first airline in the world to operate a non-stop route between Australia and Las Vegas.
The new seasonal Sydney–Las Vegas service will run through to March 2027 and will save customers up to five hours in travel time by eliminating the need for connections through another US city.
This becomes the 101st destination on the Qantas network and the airline’s eighth city across North and South America, joining Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Dallas, New York, Vancouver and Santiago.
Available for booking from today, the service will operate during some of the city’s biggest global events and expos including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest and most influential tech show, and as Vegas plays host to the National Rugby League’s (NRL) annual season kick off Las Vegas Festival, which has quickly become a flagship event for Australian and international sports fans. Las Vegas is also home to world-class entertainment including residencies from some of the biggest names in music and serves as a gateway to attractions like the Grand Canyon and the broader American southwest regions.
For the past two years the airline has operated charter flights in partnership with NRL from Australia’s East Coast to Las Vegas to get Aussie fans to games. Flights took off this week and, for the third year, in a row are fully booked.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said strong customer demand for international travel is driving the airline's expansion of seasonal services to destinations like Las Vegas.
“Australians' appetite for international travel continues to be incredibly strong. Rome and Sapporo have shown us there's real demand for seasonal services to destinations people want to visit at certain times of year, and we're continuing to expand those direct connections around the world,” Mr Wallace said
"Our historic fleet renewal is giving us the flexibility to deploy aircraft where we see demand, opening up route possibilities that simply weren't there before. Las Vegas becomes our 101st destination and is a great example of how we're using that capability. This growth also creates real opportunities for our people, particularly our pilots and cabin crew, as we expand where we fly,” said Mr Wallace.
President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Steve Hill said Qantas’ new nonstop service from Sydney is a testament to the strength of the Australian market for Las Vegas.

 
Vegas suffering from a big downturn/perception problem. More and more Australian travellers rightly avoiding the US market. Vegas must be giving them a lot of money as this seems like a pretty absurd idea. Plenty of untapped opportunities in Europe and Asia that are a safer bet and actually respond to customer demand.
 
Can't help but feel Qantas is about 10 years too late to be flying into Vegas. 2015-2020 I think they would have had no issues filling the planes but can't remember the last time I knew someone who went to Vegas for leisure. Loads will be interesting to watch. Missed opportunity to not have timed it for the Las Vegas GP.
 
I just dont get this. LAS is a lackluster destination unless you are a gambler and terrible for connections. Everything is fake.

If QF have spare aircraft for this surely finally launching the ORD flights which covid killed would have been better? Chicago is a great city to spend time in, hosts just as many business conventions as LAS and ORD is a major AA hub.

Or reinstating SYD-ICN or flying QF metal to Vietnam or replacing the AY leases so that horrible J seat can be avoided.
 
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Can't help but feel Qantas is about 10 years too late to be flying into Vegas. 2015-2020 I think they would have had no issues filling the planes but can't remember the last time I knew someone who went to Vegas for leisure. Loads will be interesting to watch. Missed opportunity to not have timed it for the Las Vegas GP.

I was there last week for leisure...

Heaps of Aussies on my LAS-LAX flight as well (as there always are). Vegas numbers are definitely down but we're talking 10-15% max, not 50-80%. Still heaps of people in Vegas, and heaps of Aussies.

AUD/USD improvement above 70c is going to make a big differences as well.

That said, I'm still surprised QF can maintain a widebody flight. AS pulling out of LAS-LAX has made connections difficult (flying to BNE requires a 7 hour top in LAX) as AA are still only doing 3 flights a day. Otherwise I expected QF to start codesharing on HNL-LAS (3x widebodies - more oneworld seats on that route than LAX-LAS).

QF may well be expecting ex-US pax to make the flight sustainable as this is the peak season for US-AU travel.
 
I just dont get this. LAS is a lackluster destination unless you are a gambler and terrible for connections. Everything is fake.

If QF have spare aircraft for this surely finally launching the ORD flights which covid killed would have been better? Chicago is a great city to spend time in, hosts just as many business conventions as LAS and ORD is a major AA hub
Or reinstating SYD-ICN or flying QF metal to Vietnam or replacing the AY leases so that horrible J seat can be avoided.
I don’t profess to know a lot about the ins and outs of US travel but you do seem to raise some valid points.
Would other US ports make more sense?
 

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