From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Southern Cross Route is a term for passenger flights from
Australasia (or
Oceania ) to Europe via the
Western Hemisphere . The term was coined by
British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines when they began services from
Sydney to
Vancouver in 1949.
[1]
[2] The route was extended to Europe following the signing of an air services agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom in 1957,
[3] which saw
Qantas flying from Sydney to London via Los Angeles and New York using
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations .
[4] : 145 The name is in honor of Sir
Charles Kingsford Smith 's historic 1928 flight in the aircraft
Southern Cross .
[5] The equivalent route running through the
Eastern Hemisphere is known as the
Kangaroo Route .
[6]
Qantas operated on the route from 1949 — 1974, when it discontinued the London leg of the trip.
[4] : 148
BOAC began flying to Australia via the South Pacific in April 1967.
[7]
Air New Zealand operated an
Auckland –
Los Angeles –
London Heathrow from 1982 — 2020.
[8] Other airlines to use the route include
Air Tahiti Nui ,
French Bee ,
Air France ,
Air Canada ,
Aerolíneas Argentinas , and
LAN Airlines .
Operations
Aside from codeshares and alliances/partners, airlines on the Southern Cross Route (with seasonal destinations in italics ) are the following:
Airline
Destination in Oceania
Intermediate Stop
Destination(s) in Europe
Air Canada
Auckland ,
Brisbane ,
Sydney
Vancouver
Dublin ,
Frankfurt ,
London–Heathrow ,
Zurich
Air France
Papeete
Los Angeles
Paris–CDG
Air Tahiti Nui
Papeete
Los Angeles
Seattle
[9]
American Airlines
Auckland ,
Brisbane (begins Oct 27, 2024)
[10]
Dallas/Fort Worth
Amsterdam ,
Barcelona (begins Jun 4, 2024),
[11]
Dublin ,
Frankfurt ,
London–Heathrow ,
Madrid ,
Paris–CDG ,
Rome–Fiumicino
Auckland ,
[12]
Sydney
Los Angeles
London–Heathrow
Delta Air Lines
Auckland ,
[13]
Brisbane (begins Dec 4, 2024),
[14]
Papeete ,
Sydney
London–Heathrow
[15] (ends May 6, 2024),
[16]
Paris–CDG
[17]
French Bee
Papeete
San Francisco
Paris–Orly
LATAM Chile
Auckland ,
Melbourne
[18]
Sydney (via Auckland)
Santiago
Madrid
[19]
United Airlines
Sydney
Houston
[20]
Amsterdam ,
Frankfurt ,
London–Heathrow ,
Munich
Auckland ,
[21]
[22]
Brisbane ,
[21]
[23]
Melbourne ,
Sydney
Los Angeles
London–Heathrow
Auckland ,
Brisbane ,
Christchurch ,
[21]
[22]
Melbourne ,
Papeete ,
Sydney
San Francisco
Amsterdam
[24] ,
Barcelona (begins May 24, 2024),
[25]
Frankfurt ,
London–Heathrow ,
Munich ,
Paris–CDG ,
Rome–Fiumicino
[26] ,
Zurich
See also
Kangaroo Route – the Southern Cross Route's counterpart traveling via the Eastern Hemisphere
Wallaby Route - Route launched by Qantas in 1952 connecting Sydney to Johannesburg
Fiesta Route - Qantas' route that existed from 1964-1975 connecting Sydney to London via Fiji, Tahiti, Acapulco, Mexico City, The Bahamas, and Bermuda.
[27]
[28]
References
^
"GIANT AIRLINER ON PIONEERS' TRACKS" .
The Sun . No. 12, 186. New South Wales, Australia. 16 February 1949. p. 10 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^
"Huge Airliner to Fly Across to Vancouver" .
The Canberra Times . Vol. 23, no. 6822. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 February 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^
"Exchange Of Air Routes In New Agreement" .
The Canberra Times . Vol. 31, no. 9, 293. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 October 1957. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^
a
b Rimmer, Peter J. (2005).
"Australia Through the Prism of Qantas: Distance Makes a Comeback" (PDF) . Otemon Journal of Australian Studies . 31 . Retrieved 23 January 2022 .
^
"QANTAS Airways celebrates 60 years of flying to the United States" . World Airline News. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2022 .
^
"London to Perth: Everything you need to know about the first non-stop flights from Britain to Australia" . The Telegraph . Retrieved 30 December 2017 .
^
Annual report by the Minister for Civil Aviation for year 1966-67 (Report). Commonwealth Government Printer. 1967. p. 12. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^
"Air New Zealand to axe London flights after 36 years" . Stuff. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2022 .
^
"TN57 schedule. (Air Tahiti Nui flight: Paris -> Tahiti via Seattle)" . info.flightmapper.net . Retrieved 16 June 2023 .
^
"Bound for Brisbane: American Airlines to fly Down Under next winter" . American Airlines Newsroom . 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024 .
^
"American Airlines NS24 Long-Haul Network Changes – 20AUG23" . AeroRoutes . Retrieved 21 August 2023 .
^
"American Airlines Resumes Los Angeles – Auckland Route From Dec 2023" . AeroRoutes . Retrieved 24 April 2023 .
^
"Delta launches first-ever service from Los Angeles to Auckland and more paths to popular European destinations | Delta News Hub" . news.delta.com . 20 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023 .
^
"Delta Schedules Los Angeles – Brisbane Dec 2024 Launch" . AeroRoutes . Retrieved 28 February 2024 .
^ Seet, Charlotte (23 September 2022).
"Gatwick & Geneva: Delta Air Lines Adds 9 New Transatlantic Routes For 2023" . Simple Flying . Retrieved 12 November 2022 .
^ Bahloul, Feriel (3 March 2024).
"Delta Air Lines to Suspend Los Angeles-London Route" . Airways . Retrieved 4 March 2024 .
^ Seet, Charlotte (23 September 2022).
"Gatwick & Geneva: Delta Air Lines Adds 9 New Transatlantic Routes For 2023" . Simple Flying . Retrieved 15 November 2022 .
^
"LATAM resumes Melbourne-Santiago" . Business Traveller . Retrieved 11 December 2023 .
^
"LATAM Flights between Australia/NZ and Europe" . Flightsfrom.com . Retrieved 21 June 2023 .
^
"United adds Houston – Sydney service from Jan 2018" . Routes. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2022 .
^
a
b
c
"United Announces Largest South Pacific Expansion in Aviation History, Including New Direct Flight to Christchurch, New Zealand" . United - Newsroom . Retrieved 24 April 2023 .
^
a
b
"The Americans are coming, so are cheaper airfares!" . NZ Herald . 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023 .
^
"United Shortens Los Angeles – Brisbane Service in 1Q24" . AeroRoutes . Retrieved 15 December 2023 .
^
"United adds 3 new European destinations" . SFGate . 30 August 2018.
^
"United Adds San Francisco – Barcelona From late-May 2024" . AeroRoutes . Retrieved 11 December 2023 .
^ Rains, Taylor.
"United announced 7 new international routes for summer 2023 as post-pandemic demand to Europe continues to soar — see the full list" . Business Insider . Retrieved 15 November 2022 .
^ LondonAirTravel (1 May 2022).
"The History Of Flight Between The UK and Australia From 1935 Onwards" . London Air Travel . Retrieved 29 November 2022 .
^
"Quiz: Beach Boys Lyric or Qantas Route?" . Qantas . 16 April 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2022 .
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