Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd on Friday said it is seeking joint-venture with American Airlines on trans-Pacific services, as it prepares to start flights to Dallas/ Fort Worth and dump direct services to San Francisco.
Qantas said Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in North Texas of the United States is the eighth busiest airport in the world based on passenger traffic figures from 2009, and it was American Airlines' largest hub city.
According to Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, flying into American Airlines' largest hub would allow the airline to add its code on 16 additional destinations, 13 in the U.S. and three in Mexico, and fill its planes with more corporate travelers.
"At San Francisco we didn't have the proportion of business traffic that we get to Los Angeles, it was more of a leisure operation," Joyce told Australia Associated Press on Friday.
"I think Dallas will have a higher component of business passengers.
"We have limited resources and aircraft and we think that Dallas is just a great, exciting opportunity for us and that the aircraft are better suited to operate on that route."
The airline said it would start flying four times a week to Dallas/Fort Worth from May using a three-class Boeing 747. Qantas will fly direct from Sydney of Australia to Dallas/Fort Worth, travel time 15 hours and 25 minutes, while the return leg with be via Brisbane.
Joyce said the flights would operate with "full payload passenger capabilities" in both directions, and the airline hoped to increase frequency to a daily service in the future.
According to Australia Associated Press, Qantas will seek Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approval to coordinate with American on areas such as fares, selling activity and joint venture proposals in an expanded commercial relationship.
The airline said the alliance would give Qantas a "stronger and more balanced network footprint in the U.S."
American Airlines chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey said an "expanded relationship and deeper commercial cooperation" with Qantas would benefit consumers, employees, shareholders and financial supporters of both airlines.
Meanwhile, the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said the new flights were a smart move, as it gives both carriers a much stronger position to distribute traffic beyond their first gateways.