Qantas Lands Inaugural Airbus 380 Service
in San Francisco

A Qantas Airways Airbus 380 jumbo jet from Sydney, Australia, landed
for the first time in San Francisco yesterday. Qantas announced it will
replace its existing Sydney to San Francisco B747 service with the A380 within a year.
Photo courtesy Qantas Airways

By Luke Thomas

January 15, 2009

With much fanfare, Qantas Airways yesterday landed its inaugural flight of a jumbo Airbus 380 under clear blue skies in San Francisco.

With Qantas upper management, an MP representing New South Wales, and a kangaroo in tow, Qantas officially marked the addition of the City of San Francisco to its G’Day USA program. It’s all part of a national campaign sponsored by Tourism Australia and Tourism New South Wales, in partnership with Qantas, to attract more Americans to the land down under.

And Qantas wants its customers to fly to Australia in comfort and style aboard its comprehensively appointed fleet of fuel-efficient A380’s, capable of carrying up to 450 passengers in four classes of service.  Its A380 service, according to Qantas, will replace its existing B747 service within twelve months.

Following its arrival at SFO’s international terminal, a press conference was held followed by a guided tour of the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Mayor Gavin Newsom, Treasurer Jose Cisneros, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spokesperson Barbara Kaufman were in attendance.

Newsom, noting a 40-year sister-city relationship between San Francisco and Sydney, said the Qantas flights to San Francisco generated “$9.2 million on an annual basis of state and local taxes,” as well as creating 1342 jobs.

“That’s a big number,” Newsom said.

Mayor Gavin Newsom

MP for New South Wales Kristina Keneally said of the sister-city relationship: “We share so much. We share an active lifestyle. We share a fast-paced lifestyle. We share, indeed, an economy based on tourism and professional services.”

“It’s only appropriate that we are here again as part of G’Day USA to promote to our friends and our partners in the United States, all that Sydney has to offer, all that New South Wales and all that Australia has to offer,” Keneally added.

MP for New South Wales Kristina Keneally
and Mayor Gavin Newsom at the flight controls in the Qantas A380 cockpit.

As part of the G’Day USA promotion, Qantas is currently offering one-way fares from San Francisco to Sydney, available online from its website, for $380.

More pics after the jump.

 
Mayor Gavin Newsom walks past “Tucker,”
a kangaroo from the Los Angeles Zoo.

Qantas Senior Executive Vice President, Wally Mariani.

San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros.

7×7 Executive Publisher Susie McCormick.

Qantas A380 Captain Mark Huxtable.

First Class.

Qantas cabin crew staffer Alana Hockley in Business Class.

Economy Class.

Best in class.

 

Luke Thomas: “Can I take her out for a spin?”
Photo by Jose Cisneros

Luke Thomas

Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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