Long-haul jets and second runway open Brisbane Airport to new world of destinations

Aircraft that can fly further combined with Brisbane Airport’s new runway have the potential to open Queensland up to a whole new world of tourism opportunities.

A NEW generation of smaller jets that can fly further are cutting the need for stopovers and opening up lucrative direct tourism markets for Brisbane and Queensland.

Direct flights to Chicago and San Francisco will make Brisbane seem closer for high-spending American tourists, industry bosses say, while planes such as the Airbus A321 LR and Boeing 787 have helped turn on non-stop routes between Manilla and Brunei.

The more economical aircraft, combined with Brisbane’s new runway, will potentially open slots for flights from a swag of new Chinese destinations, as well as in India, Vietnam and even as far away as Colombia and Brazil.

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People may soon be catching direct flights between Chicago and Brisbane. Picture: Istock

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Tourism bosses like direct flights because they mean tourists can only spend their money at their destination, with less leaching out during traditional stopovers.

Future Aviation, a two-week series in The Sunday Mail and The Courier-Mail in partnership with Brisbane Airport, Tourism & Events Queensland, Brisbane Marketing and PwC, will highlight the opportunities of the new runway, which opens in the middle of next year.

Brisbane Marketing CEO Brett Fraser said direct flights were a critical factor in destination choice for business and leisure travellers.

“Australia is viewed as a mid- to long-haul destination so any opportunity for shorter flights has strong appeal for visitors,” Mr Fraser said.

“A lot of effort goes into educating airlines on the benefits of coming to Brisbane, as well as working with the local tourism industry to deliver experiences that are market-ready and prepared to host visitors from different cultural backgrounds.

“A key part of Brisbane Marketing’s strategy has been to attract air route decision makers to Brisbane to learn about and experience the transformation under way in our city.”

Brisbane will host 1200 of the world’s most influential airline schedules and delegates from 230 airlines next month as part of the International Air Transport Association Slot Conference.

“The new second runway will double the airport’s capacity to be on par with Hong Kong’s International Airport and Singapore’s Changi airport,” Mr Fraser said.

“In addition to greater capacity, we expect more airlines will take advantage of our curfew-free airport and the opportunity to leverage its significant connectivity to the rest of Australia.”

Qantas pilot Sean Golding and first officer Jeremy Sutherland in the cockpit of a Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which would fly the Brisbane-Chicago route. Picture: James D Morgan

Brisbane Airport aviation development and partnerships executive general manager Jim Parashos said the Boeing 787 had opened the Perth to London Qantas route and would also fly Brisbane-Chicago non-stop.

He said the Airbus 321 had opened up other routes that did not stack up financially with jumbos but worked with fewer seats.

“In the last 12 months alone we’ve had Philippine Airlines, which used to operate a Manila-Darwin-Brisbane flight. They took delivery of these 321 aircraft and now operate five times a week non-stop.”

He said the airport was targeting Vietnam, Jakarta, and Delhi as new direct routes as well as opening up new US city pairs, with Dallas and Seattle on the hit list.

He said flights could also reach South America direct, and there was huge potential with Colombia and Brazil.

“Being able to get into that market would be a priority,” Mr Parashos said.

“That’s all possible with current aircraft technology.”

Mr Parashos said American flyers were often put off by stopovers, with the perception any flight that wasn’t direct was too far to travel.

He said direct flights would encourage more travellers, as illustrated in a recent advertising campaign that pitches “wine, dinner, a movie, then Australia”.

“In other words, you get on the flight at 10pm, by the time you get on board, have a wine, have your dinner, watch a movie, three hours have gone by and you’ve only got 10 hours to go and then your arrival and you’re in Australia,” Mr Parashos said.

Qantas last week launched the first of their Project Sunrise test flights, flying direct between New York and Sydney. The re-purposed Boeing 787-9 carried only 40 people to increase its range as part of the first of three Qantas research flights aimed at eventually operating regular, non-stop commercial flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.

American-bound Nathan Pitt from Cairns and Jenessa Schonrock from Maryborough at the international airport. Pic Annette Dew

The flight between Sydney and New York has put stopovers on notice that their time is up.

America-bound Queenslanders Nathan Pitt and Jenessa Schonrock said they would welcome direct flights to destinations such as New York, Las Vegas or Chicago.

The pair said when they travelled, they tried to take the most direct route.

“You avoid them,” Mr Pitt said of the stopover.

Ms Schonrock added: “You’re just tired, you just want to get home.”

The pair, who left Brisbane for Los Angeles, plan to visit New York, Seattle, San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

“I travel a lot anyway, but I do always try to get direct flights,” Ms Schonrock said.