Qantas will be flying its newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, on its daily Brisbane-Los Angeles route starting September 1, 2018, replacing the B747-400 that currently flies between the two cities.
The change to the Dreamliner is part of Qantas’s strategy to replace its five oldest B747-400s over the next few years. Qantas received its first Dreamliner in October last year and the aircraft has already begun flying on the airline’s Melbourne-Los Angeles route.
The good news for travellers is that the Dreamliner features all-new seat products in all three cabins – business class, premium economy and economy.
Business class on the new aircraft is laid out 1-2-1, while premium economy is configured 2-3-2 and economy 3-3-3.
From September 1 onwards the aircraft will operate as flight QF15/QF16 on the Brisbane (BNE)-Los Angeles (LAX) route, before continuing on as QF11/QF12 from Los Angeles to New York (JFK). Travellers on Qantas’s flights to Los Angeles from Sydney and Melbourne are also able to connect onto QF11/QF12.
A seasonal B747-400 service will continue to operate as a thrice-weekly service as QF55/QF56, however on December 1 Qantas will take delivery of its eight and final Dreamliner and the B747-400 on the thrice-weekly service will be replaced by the newer aircraft. The thrice-weekly flights will then be upped to a year-round, four-times-weekly service.
The full schedule is as follows (all times local):
From September 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days |
| QF15 | Brisbane (BNE) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1020 | 0600 | Daily |
| QF11 | Los Angeles (LAX) | New York (JFK) | 0820 | 1640 | |
| QF55* | Brisbane (BNE) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1750 | 1330 | Mon, Thu, Sat |
| QF12 | New York (JFK) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1810 | 2100 | Daily |
| QF56* | Los Angeles (LAX) | Brisbane (BNE) | 2215 | 0500+2 | Tue, Thu, Sat |
| QF16 | Los Angeles (LAX) | Brisbane (BNE) | 2325 | 0610+2 | Daily |
* Operated by the B747-400
From December 1, 2018 onwards
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days |
| QF15 | Brisbane (BNE) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1120 | 0600 | Daily |
| QF11 | Los Angeles (LAX) | New York (JFK) | 0820 | 1630 | |
| QF55 | Brisbane (BNE) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1715 | 1155 | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat |
| QF56 | Los Angeles (LAX) | Brisbane (BNE) | 2105 | 0500+2 | Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat |
| QF12 | New York (JFK) | Los Angeles (LAX) | 1800 | 2055 | Daily |
| QF16 | Los Angeles (LAX) | Brisbane (BNE) | 2320 | 0715+2 |
Qantas plans to base four of its Dreamliners at Brisbane, though these will only begin deployment after the first four Dreamliners, which Qantas will base in Melbourne, have been delivered. All eight of the aircraft are expected to be received by the end of the year.
Australia’s flag carrier has been expanding its North America services recently, most notably with the announcement last month of flights between Melbourne and San Francisco. These are set to take off in late-2018 and will also be flown by the Dreamliner.
Qantas has also expressed its desire to launch non-stop flights between Sydney and New York within the next few years, though no aircraft are currently capable of flying the distance commercially. However, both Airbus and Boeing have reportedly accepted the challenge to make modifications to their aircraft – the ultra-long-range version of the A350-900 and the upcoming B777-9 – in order to make this journey possible.
