Victorians will soon have direct flights between Melbourne and San Francisco, with Qantas to start four services each week from late next year.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren joined Qantas International CEO Alison Webster at Melbourne Airport today to announce the new services, which will add close to 50,000 seats each way every year.
The announcement means Victoria will soon have two direct services to California, with no other airline currently operating this route. There is currently a direct service between Los Angeles and Melbourne.
It’s a great opportunity to grow our tourism and trade links, with more than 50,000 visitors travelling to Victoria from California in the 12 months to September – up by over 17 per cent on the previous year.
As Victoria’s fourth largest international visitor market, 223,000 visitors from America came to our state in the same period, spending $337 million.
The new San Francisco service is tipped to boost the number of visitors to Victoria by 20,000 and generate up to $36 million in expenditure, as well as increasing current air freight exports to more than $1 billion.
Qantas’ new Boeing 787 Dreamliner will operate the route, which will take off on its first flight between Melbourne and Los Angeles today.
The new route will provide a massive boost for Victoria’s information and communities technology industry, connecting Victoria’s businesses and entrepreneurs with one of the world’s most famous tech hubs Silicon Valley.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren
“Qantas’ new San Francisco leg is a massive coup for Victorian tourism, jobs and our economy.”
“We’re getting things done – another direct flight to California means more visitors and greater business and trade opportunities for Victorians.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Trade and Investment Philip Dalidakis
“Victoria has a strong relationship with San Fran through our trade and tech connections – these flights will make that link even stronger and help Victorian companies expand and create more local jobs.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020