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Six airlines dominate Australia-US air travel market in 2024

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Six airlines dominate Australia-US air travel market in 2024
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Joanna Bailey Managing Editor | Simple Flying

Qantas leads Australia to US routes with the most flights and seats, closely followed by United Airlines. United Airlines is a member of Star Alliance and operates six routes with almost 4,000 flights in 2024. Delta Air Lines operates two routes from LAX to SYD and BNE, using the Airbus A350-900.

Australia to US routes have increased in recent years. In 2024, there are six airlines operating 21 routes over these long distances. It is probably no surprise that the Australian national carrier Qantas tops the list for routes, number of flights, and available seats. United Airlines is not far behind; however, it is a long way ahead of Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, followed by Jetstar, then Hawaiian Airlines.

The guide looks at the six airlines flying, their capacities, and what routes they are operating in 2024.

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1. Qantas - top place for routes and seats in 2024

The national carrier flies eight routes from Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane.

- Airline: Qantas

- No flights (2024): 4,176

- Total seats: 1,223,019

- Available Seat Miles (ASM): 9,174,554,396

- Routes operated: DFW to MEL/SYD; LAX to MEL/SYD/BNE; JFK to SYD (via AKL); SFO to SYD; HNL to SYD

- Aircraft types operated: Boeing 787-9; Airbus A380; Airbus A330

Qantas leads the way for Australia to US flights but is not that far ahead of United Airlines. In 2024, there are 4176 scheduled flights. It also works with its oneworld partner American Airlines. When these routes are considered together, the oneworld alliance is a clear leader for the routes.

Unsurprisingly, with so many routes, Qantas operates several aircraft types between Australia and the US. In the second half of 2024, the Boeing 787-9 appears on many routes. The A380 is used on some LAX to Sydney and Melbourne flights. The A330 also appears on HNL to Sydney and LAX to Brisbane.

Data in the article is from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Flight data is based on the whole year of 2024 and aircraft utilized is based on the period July to December 2024.

2. United Airlines

United comes a very close second with six routes.

- Airline: United Airlines

- No flights (2024): 3,857

- Total seats: 1,115,091

- Available Seat Miles (ASM): 8.468355639

- Routes operated: SFO to MEL/SYD/BNE; LAX to MEL/SYD; IAH to SYD

- Aircraft types operated: Boeing 787-9; Boeing 777-300

Taking on Qantas and the oneworld alliance, United Airlines (as a member of Star Alliance) operates almost 4,000 flights on six routes between the countries.

United's largest operation is on the San Francisco to Sydney route which operates twice daily (only Delta Air Lines also does this - on the LAX to Sydney route). According to US Department of Transportation T-100 data, United launched the long route in 1994 and previously operated the Boeing 747 on it. It is now flown exclusively with its largest aircraft type—the Boeing 777-300.

The Boeing 777-300 is also found on some SFO to Melbourne and Brisbane flights—with all other routes using the Boeing 787-9.

3. Delta Air Lines

Third place but well behind for SkyTeam with less than 1,000 flights in 2024.

- Airline: Delta Air Lines

- No flights (2024):964

- Total seats:294984

-Available Seat Miles(ASM):2206250820

-Routes operated:LAXtoSYD,BNE

-Aircrafttypesoperated:A350900

DeltaAirLinescomesinsecondamongthemainUScarriers,butwhenyouconsiderthatthird-placeAmericanAirlineshasalliancepartnerQuantastosharewith,theSkyTeamallianceiswaybehind.DeltaoperatesonlytworoutesbetweenthecountriesfromLosAngelesLAXtoSydneyandBrisbane.ThesearebothoperatedwiththeAirbusA350900withtheSydneyflightbeingtheairline'sthirdlongestwiththetype(behindAtlantatoCapeTownandJohannesburg).TheBrisbaneflightonlystartedinearly2024—withDeltafollowingitscompetitorsinstartingdirectservicetothecity.

Related:

DeltaAirLinesUpsLAX-SydneyAirbusA350FlightsToDoubleDaily.Itisthecarrier'shighestfrequencytodate.

AmericanAirlines:

Boostingoneworld'sleadingpositionontheroutes:

-Airline:AmericanAirlines

-Noflights(2024):862

-Totalseats:259578

-ASM:1973545086

-RoutesoperatedDFWtoBNE,LAXtoSYD

-Aircrafttypesoperated:Boeing7879,Boeing777300

AmericanAirlinesmayoperatethefewestflightstoAustraliaoutofthethreemainUSairlines,buthasastrongpresencethroughitsoneworldpartnerQantas.Thetwoairlineshaveajointventureinplace,andcodeshareonroutesbetweenthecountries(andwithonwardconnections).Theairline’stworoutesarebetweenLosAngelesLAXandSydney(competingwithallthemainoperators)andbetweenDallasDFWandBrisbane.TheBrisbaneroutewasonlyannouncedinFebruary2024(tostartinOctober).Itwillbetheairline’slongestflighttodate.ItwillbeoperatedwiththeBoeing7879whereasSydneyflightsarealloperatedwithaBoeing777300.

Related:

AmericanAirlinesAnnouncedItsLongestFlightYetHere’sWhatIt’sReplacing.Thenewnon-stopservicewillcovermorethan8300miles.

JetStar:

Operatinglow-costflightstoHawaiifromSydneyandMelbourne:

-AirlineJetStar:Noflights(202457574)

-Totalseats192290ASMASM1004660980Routes:HNLtoSYDMELAircrafttypes:Boeing7878

Qantas’subsidiaryairlineJetStaralsooperatesflightsbetweenAustraliaandtheUStargetingaverydifferentmarketfromtheQantasandAmericanAirlinesscheduledflights.TheflightsprimarilyaimattheholidaymarketflyingtoHawaii.ItdoesnotflytotheUSmainland.ItsroutetoMelbourneisthelongestdirectflightoperatingfromHNL.BothroutesareflownusingtheBoeing7878andoperate severaltimesperweek(inearly202453timesaweekforSydneytwiceaweekforMelbourne).

HawaiianAirlines:

Justonedirectflightbutairlinehasonwardconnections:

-Airline:HawaiianAirlinesNoflights(532)

-Totalseats147896ASMASM749241136Routes:HNLtoSYDAircrafttypes:A330

HawaiianAirlinesfollowsbehindJetStaroperatingjustoneroutebetweenHawaii(HNL)andSydney.OfcoursetheairlinealsoconnectstotheUSmainland.Itnowcurrentlyfive timesaweekbutasscheduleschangeyear-round.HawaiianusesA330forthisroute.

Organizations Included in this History
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