World's Largest Passenger Jet, The A380 Begins World's Longest Flight

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World's Largest Passenger Jet, The A380 Begins World's Longest Flight

October 1, 2014 - Qantas Airways begins flights between Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) to Sydney using the Airbus A380 "Superjumbo" jet making it the longest scheduled commercial flight in the world and served by the largest passenger jet in the world.

Given the additional range of the A380, the Qantas DFW to Australia service will now operate direct to Sydney rather than via Brisbane. The new A380 service will operate six flights per week between Dallas/Fort Worth and Sydney (every day except Tuesdays), representing a net increase of seats on the route by 10 percent per week.

The Qantas announcement means DFW will host A380 flights from two carriers, the other being Emirates Airline, starting in the fall. Those aircraft will utilize two gates, D15 and D16, and will be served utilizing three passenger jet bridges.

This gives the A380-800's cabin 5,145 square feet of usable floor space. The upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage giving the A 380 40% more seating space than the Boeing 747-8. The A380 provides seating for 525 people in a typical three-class configuration or up to 853 people in an all-economy class configuration.

The A380-800 has a design range of 9,800 mile, sufficient to fly nonstop from DFW to Sydney Dubai with a cruising speed of 560 mph at cruising altitude. The A380 will offer private First Class suites on the route along with lie-flat Skybeds in Business class.

DFW Airport is currently finalizing preparations for the arrival of the A380 with the construction of a second level jet bridge in Terminal D and modifications to the airfield, ramps and taxiways. Terminal D opened in 2005 with A380 capabilities already built into its design, so the final additions to make DFW ready for the A380 are relatively minor.

"The announcement of Qantas Airways A380 service to DFW is outstanding news for our Airport and the Dallas/Fort Worth region, because it adds more seats to what has become a very popular and important route," said Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW International Airport.

"With $2.9 billion in annual trade between Texas and Australia, the Qantas service has allowed for many new business, trade and tourism connections with the Dallas/Fort Worth region. On the tourism side, since the route began three years ago more than 50,000 Australians a year are now visiting Dallas and Fort Worth and that number is growing. The great success of the flight is reflected in Qantas's decision to place an A380 on the DFW to Sydney route."

"Dallas/Fort Worth has become an important gateway for Qantas customers since we started flying there in 2011," said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. "Dallas/Fort Worth is home to oneworld partner American Airlines and is conveniently located less than four hours from every major US city including Orlando, Boston, Houston and LaGuardia, making it a perfect hub for our customers to Australia."