We’ve spent Christmas in Hawaii and now it’s time to spend New Year’s Down Under! Los Angeles has been connected to Australia for decades now, and currently has seasonal or yeqr-round service to 3 Australian cities - Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. Of these three, Qantas, the Australian flag carrier, is the only airline to serve all 3 year-round from Los Angeles, which it does with its 787-9 Dreamliner, A380-800, and A330-200 aircraft. On the LAX-BNE route, the 787-9 is used during the Northern Winter season, when demand for travel to the Southern Hemisphere is at its peak, with the A330-200 flying between L.A. and Queensland during the summer. As the youngest member of the Qantas widebody fleet, the 787-9 is always a pleasure to fly on, ensuring Qantas remains at rhe forefront of flying in the South Pacific and beyond.
Server: Solo
Airline: Qantas
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Origin: Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California (LAX)
Destination: Brisbane Airport, Brisbane, Australia (BNE)
Flight Number: QF16
Route: KLAX-YBBN
Seat: 11A (Business)
Time En Route: 13 Hours 59 Minutes
Ready to board our aircraft at the TBIT Midfield Concourse. Yet again, we’ve been reunited with VH-ZNA “Great Southern Land” for our journey dow to Brisbane.
Pushing back from our gate next to a pretty packed lineup of heavies
Taxiing by the main TBIT, with a trio of flight also headed south of the Equator: a Fiji Air A350-900 going to Nadi as FJ811, an American Airlines 777-300ER going to Sydney as AA73, and an American Airlines 787-9 also going to Brisbane about 45 minutes after us as AA42. Terminal 4 is also buzzing with activity, as red-eye flights to the East Coast are being prepared for their journeys.
Taking off from Runway 25R. Brisbane, here we come!
Climbing over the South Bay, with the lights of LAX, El Segundo, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Rancho Palos Verdes fading out in the distance. We’re reclining our seat for some sleep on the trip south.
Enjoying a mid-flight meal of a crumbed pork loin sandwich at 38,000 feet over the South Pacific. We’re something of an island of light in the dark of the Pacific night, heading southwest at Mach 0.85. It’s almost mind-blowing when we think of it, how in less than 75 years we went from a half dozen stops between Australia and the United States using piston-powered airliners, to 2 or 3 with the 707, to the 747 Classic cutting it down to 1, then to the 747SP, 747-400, 777, and now the 787 and A350 making the journey non-stop and at speeds approaching the speed of sound.
After several hours of sleeping, we’ve begun our descent towards the coast of Queensland at dawn. On the horizon, the Sun is just starting to appear, casting an ethereal glow across the sky.
Landing at BNE at just under 14 hours’ worth of flying. Already, this Australian airport is starting to wake up to a busy summer day of flights coming and going.
“…And for those of you whose journey is ending here, welcome home.”
Taxiing to the International Terminal while a company 737-800 departs for Sydney as QF501, the first of many daily flights between Brisbane and Australia’s busiest airport.
Deplaned at Gate 82 before going to get breakfast and spending the next day or so sightseeing in Brissie and visiting the beach up in Noosa. Once again, Qantas’s long-haul business class doesn’t disappoint!
