Qantas Launches 2 New 15-Hour Ultra-Long Nonstop Routes: See Map Now

Published Nov 9, 2026, 7:01 AM EST James lives and breathes route development. Educated in Air Transport Management at Loughborough University and Cranfield University, James has a PhD in Airline Strategy and Economics. James was Market Opportunity Analyst at London Luton Airport and Chief Analyst at anna.aero. He taught airline strategy and economics to undergraduate and postgraduate students for five years and has worked closely with multiple carriers on route and market intelligence projects. He is based near London, UK. Qantas has two upcoming new ultra-long-haul nonstop routes, both of which are timed at up to around 15 hours. Next month, the oneworld member will take off to Las Vegas. Then, in 11 months, the carrier will begin flying to Cape Town for the first time. Unsurprisingly, OAG schedule data shows that Qantas is comfortably the largest long-haul operator serving Australia. However, the airline only has around 16% of the total flights. But when the wholly-owned budget unit Jetstar is included, the pair's share rises to 23%, which is getting on for nearly one in four services. Qantas From Sydney To Las Vegas In February this year, Qantas announced that it'd fly from its busiest hub of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) for the first time on a regular basis. The carrier has had various charter flights in the past. The route's launch date is fast approaching, with the first scheduled service due to lift off on December 29. Operating three times a week on a seasonal basis, the new route will cover 6,708 nautical miles (12,423 km) on a great circle basis. It'll have a maximum block time back to SYD of 15 hours and 15 minutes. Days SYD To LAS; Local Times LAS To SYD; Local Times Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays QF55: 9:00 PM-3:55 PM (same day arrival; 13 hours and 55 minutes) QF56: 8:20 PM-6:35 AM+2 (15 hours and 15 minutes) The block time means that only one aircraft will be needed. The equipment will, of course, be the 236-seat Boeing 787-9 (given Qantas' fleet, what else?). This variant has 42 seats in business (1-2-1), 28 seats in premium economy (2-3-2; 38" pitch), and 166 seats in economy (3-3-3; 32"). About 18% of the capacity is in business. Booking data for the 12 months to July 2026 indicates that 54,000 passengers flew locally between SYD and LAS. Sin City was the largest unserved US destination from Australia's busiest airport. Unsurprisingly, virtually everyone flew via Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas' nonstop flights will grow the market by 30% or more. It'll also target passengers connecting elsewhere, particularly, of course, Melbourne (22,000), Brisbane (20,000), and Auckland (14,000). Then There Is Cape Town Last week, Qantas announced that it'll fly from SYD to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) for the first time. Covering 5,946 nautical miles (11,010 km) on a great circle basis, this new long route will, funnily enough, cover marginally more distance than flights from SYD to Johannesburg's O. R. Tambo International Airport. Days SYD To CPT; Local Times CPT To SYD; Local Times Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays QF89: 10:15 AM-3:55 PM (same day arrival; 14 hours and 40 minutes) QF90: 5:55 PM-2:50 PM+1 (12 hours and 55 minutes) Like with LAS, Qantas will operate three times weekly on a seasonal basis using the 236-seat 787-9, with one frame required for the new offering. As pointed out by Analytic Flying, the airline will deploy one of four 787-9s due for delivery in 2028 (whether the full year or the financial year). The first flight will lift off from SYD on October 19, 2027, becoming the carrier's record third route from Australia to South Africa. It'll also be the first time that Australia has had a scheduled service to CPT. Loading map… Drag to explore With the market growing decently, Australia and CPT has around 87,000 passengers a year. While some of the traffic would have been from South Africans living in Australia, Cape Town is a popular higher-end leisure market for Australians. Despite covering less distance than flights from SYD to JNB, this is why the average fare is approximately 12% higher. Could A New European Route Materialize? Credit: Qantas Using so-called Dreamliners that have not been delivered yet, the new route to CPT will operate during the Southern Hemisphere summer season. Flights will exist from October 19, 2027, through to March 24, 2028. As such, the freed-up equipment could easily be used to launch a new European route during the Southern Hemisphere winter (Northern Hemisphere summer). Currently, Qantas serves three European airports: London Heathrow, Paris CDG, and Rome Fiumicino. While subject to the ongoing war in Iran, the airline plans to resume SYD-CDG via Perth International Airport (PER) and SYD-PER-Rome flights in March 2027. SYD-LHR remains served via Singapore, while MEL-LHR is scheduled to operate via PER in both directions in March. Where else could Qantas serve in Europe? Clearly, the airline is after higher-yielding markets to cover the very high operating costs. Some may suggest Frankfurt (to which the airline used to fly) or Athens International Airport (ATH). Booking data indicates that the local SYD-ATH market is marginally larger than Frankfurt. Perhaps surprisingly, the average one-way fare to Greece is 16% higher, while the distance is less, so it’d be less expensive to serve. Could SYD-PER-ATH flights materialize? MEL-ATH is a decent-sized market, too. Could MEL-PER-ATH flights begin? Time will tell.