Blitz Bureau
American Airlines’ longest direct flight in its history landed on October 28 in Australia. Flight AAL7, departed from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on October 26 night and landed at Brisbane Airport (BNE) after nearly 16 hours and 8,300 miles travelled, according to the airline and FlightAware, a site that tracks flight paths.
A report by the USA Today said, the inaugural nonstop connection between the two cities was staffed with a crew of three pilots, a relief captain, and 11 flight attendants, an American Airlines spokesperson told USA Today. The landing was live-streamed on Brisbane Airport’s YouTube channel. More than 12,000 people watched the video, giving viewers “a front row window seat through runway-cam,” as noted by BNE.
At the gate event celebration at DFW Airport, customers received a gift bag that included a koala plushie, a commemorative postcard and a voucher for a free koala moment at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, American Airlines told USA Today.
“This is not just linking two cities, this is linking two countries,” Peter Doherty, a Brisbane Airport spokesperson, said during the livestream. The flight is the longest flight by distance in the American Airlines worldwide network as well as the longest flight in Brisbane Airport’s network, according to the airport.
“Today’s arrival of American Airlines from Dallas-Fort Worth is a landmark moment for Brisbane and Queensland,” Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said. “They say there are few things bigger than Texas. Well, Queensland is three times bigger than Texas, but we share industries like agriculture, energy, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. “From the Lone Star State to the Sunshine State, this new connection between two hubs unlocks incredible potential on both sides of the Pacific,” de Graaff added.
