Qantas resumes nonstop Airbus A380 flights between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth

The Qantas Airbus A380 offers a total of 485 seats: 14 in first class, 70 in business class, 60 in premium economy, and 341 in economy class. Currently operating four times per week on this route with the remaining three days served by a Boeing 787-9 (236 seats), Qantas plans to make all services on this route exclusively operated by the A380 starting early January during Australia’s peak summer travel period.

On August 11th, Flightradar24 data showed that aircraft VH-OQK was deployed for the flight to Dallas. According to ch-aviation records, VH-OQK is one of ten Airbus A380s owned by Qantas but not all are currently active.

The Sydney-Dallas route covers approximately 7,474 nautical miles (13,805 kilometers) each way and has a scheduled block time of up to 17 hours and 15 minutes—making it Qantas’ longest nonstop flight using an A380. Globally among all airlines operating this aircraft type nonstop over long distances, only Emirates’ Dubai-Auckland route surpasses it slightly both in distance and scheduled duration.

Between April 2024 and March 2025—when Qantas was primarily using its Boeing 787-9—the airline carried nearly 140,000 round-trip passengers between Sydney and Dallas according to US Department of Transportation data. With about 162,400 seats available during that period across both directions combined for all flights offered by Qantas on this city pair; average seat occupancy reached around 86%, sometimes exceeding even ninety percent monthly.

This load factor was five percentage points higher than pre-pandemic levels when larger-capacity A380s were used on this same route. Returning to exclusive use of these larger jets could mean higher revenue per flight despite possible changes in passenger loads or ticket yields because first-class cabins are now available again.

Data suggests that roughly three out of every four travelers on this corridor connect through American Airlines at Dallas or transfer via other connecting flights provided by either carrier at their respective hubs—with New York City; Orlando; Washington DC; Toronto; and Chicago being top onward destinations for these passengers.

"Qantas' presence in Texas—and the use of the superjumbo—is...entirely because of opportunities arising from its close partner American Airlines at its busiest hub," according to information provided by Simple Flying.