Qantas commences non-stop services from Sydney to Buenos Aires

Sydney, 24 November 2008

Qantas today became the first airline to operate non-stop services between Australia and South America.

The inaugural Sydney to Buenos Aires flight left Sydney this morning and is scheduled to land in Buenos Aires at 11.00am local time.

Qantas Group General Manager Sales and Distribution, Mr Rob Gurney, said response to the new Buenos Aires services had been very positive.

"Argentina is a popular destination for Australian travellers and we are seeing continued passenger growth between Australia and South America," he said.

"These new services will enable us to grow business and leisure travel to and from Argentina and strengthen tourism and trade links.

"They will also offer passengers connections to other destinations in South America, including Brazil."

Qantas will operate three return services per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using three-class B747-400 aircraft.
The airline previously offered one-stop services to Buenos Aires, via Auckland, between 1998 and 2002.

"We have maintained services to South America via our successful codeshare with oneworld™ partner LAN since then and will continue to offer six services per week from Sydney via Auckland to Santiago, Chile," Mr Gurney said.

Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication (3857)
Email: qantasmedia@qantas.com.au