While international travel to and from the US is currently subject to a degree of uncertainty amid geopolitical tensions and declining demand, there are exceptions to this rule, with Qantas being one of them. Indeed, later this year, the Australian flag carrier and oneworld founding member is set to add a record sixth US destination to its impressive intercontinental roster when it starts to operate direct nonstop flights from Sydney to Las Vegas.

While Qantas has served ‘Sin City’ before on a charter basis in relation to Rugby League fixtures, the addition of regularly scheduled flights is a strong vote of confidence in the US market, with the Australian flag carrier highlighting strong demand from the leisure sector in particular. In this article, we will take a closer look at how Las Vegas fits into Qantas’ wider ecosystem of US routes, and the aircraft and frequencies serving these corridors.

Las Vegas Becomes Qantas’ Sixth US Destination

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February ended on a high note for the Australian flag carrier when Qantas announced that, starting on December 29, 2026, and running seasonally through to March 12, 2027, it will link Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) with Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS) on a nonstop basis. This means that, by the end of this year, the airline will be flying to a record-high six US destinations, with nine different routes serving these cities.

The flights from Sydney to Las Vegas will operate three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, using the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner widebody twinjets, with return airfares on the route (from Australia) starting at AU $1,099 ($783). According to Qantas, Las Vegas will be its 101st destination overall, with Steve Hill, who serves as the President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, explaining that:

“Australia has consistently ranked as our second-largest overseas market and our top international market without a nonstop flight. More than 250,000 Australians visit each year, drawn by the breadth and depth of experiences Las Vegas offers.”

Most Of Qantas’ American Flights Depart From Sydney

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As it happens, all six of Qantas’ American destinations this year will be served from Sydney, which serves as its main transpacific gateway for US-bound operations. According to current scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in southern California and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in the US federal state of Texas are its top destinations on this front.

Indeed, not only are these two airports, which serve as key transit hubs for Qantas’ passengers thanks to the extensive presence of its oneworld partner American Airlines, the only ones to be served daily from Sydney, but they are also the only ones where the Airbus A380 is deployed. These double-decker widebody quadjets are Qantas’ largest aircraft, with aeroLOPA showing that they can accommodate 485 guests across four classes.

Qantas’ next most popular US-bound route from Sydney in terms of frequency serves Honolulu (HNL), with its December schedule showing six Hawaii-bound flights a week using the Airbus A330. Meanwhile, the Australian flag carrier also flies its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner twinjets three times a week from Sydney to San Francisco (SFO) on a nonstop basis, while New York (JFK) sees five flights a week from Sydney via Auckland (AKL).

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The Best Of The Rest

Credit: Great Circle Map

As detailed in the map above, two more of Qantas’ Australian hubs will see scheduled nonstop flights to the US this year. Brisbane (BNE) is the first, with its sole American route (in terms of those operated by the Australian flag carrier) seeing daily flights to Los Angeles using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Elsewhere, Qantas operates two US-bound routes from its hub at Melbourne Airport (MEL), with the most popular being its daily service to LAX. These flights either use the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 787-9. Meanwhile, the latter model is also used three times a week to connect Melbourne to Dallas/Fort Worth.