Qantas has added another ultra-long-haul feather to its cap, announcing on 26 February that it will launch direct seasonal flights between Sydney (SYD) and Las Vegas (LAS) from 29 December 2026 through 12 March 2027. The Boeing 787-9 service, operating three times per week, will shave up to five hours off current routings that require a U.S. domestic transfer.
The airline timed the launch to coincide with marquee events that draw large corporate and leisure traffic from Australia, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the National Rugby League’s Las Vegas Festival. For global mobility teams the new sector offers a one-stop door-to-door option for executives heading to the U.S. southwest technology and convention corridor, bypassing congestion at Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Las Vegas becomes Qantas’ 101st international destination and its eighth city in the Americas, underscoring a rebound in Australian outbound travel that now exceeds pre-pandemic levels on some routes. Nevada’s tourism authority hailed the move as strategically valuable: Australians already rank as Las Vegas’s second-largest overseas market, with more than 250,000 visitors a year despite the lack of direct service.
![Qantas unveils world’s first non-stop Sydney-to-Las Vegas service]()
Travellers should also ensure their entry documents are squared away ahead of the trip. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport facilitator, can arrange ESTAs for eligible Australian passport-holders or full U.S. visa appointments for those who need them, with live tracking and consolidated billing via its Australia portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/)—a handy solution when a last-minute CES demo or Rugby League delegation suddenly appears on the calendar.
From a practical perspective, the slot times – SYD 21:00 departure arriving LAS 15:55, and LAS 20:20 departure arriving SYD 06:35 +2 – allow same-day onward connections to major U.S. business hubs such as Houston and Chicago, and early-morning arrivals into Australia for east-coast connections. Qantas Frequent Flyer members will earn and burn points at the usual long-haul rates, and corporate contracts can already be loaded.
Mobility managers should review travel policies that default to LAX/SFO gateways and update preferred-carrier logic in online booking tools. Companies sending equipment to trade shows will also benefit from simplified freight movements, as Qantas Freight plans to belly-hold high-value electronics on the 787 rotations.
The airline timed the launch to coincide with marquee events that draw large corporate and leisure traffic from Australia, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the National Rugby League’s Las Vegas Festival. For global mobility teams the new sector offers a one-stop door-to-door option for executives heading to the U.S. southwest technology and convention corridor, bypassing congestion at Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Las Vegas becomes Qantas’ 101st international destination and its eighth city in the Americas, underscoring a rebound in Australian outbound travel that now exceeds pre-pandemic levels on some routes. Nevada’s tourism authority hailed the move as strategically valuable: Australians already rank as Las Vegas’s second-largest overseas market, with more than 250,000 visitors a year despite the lack of direct service.
Travellers should also ensure their entry documents are squared away ahead of the trip. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport facilitator, can arrange ESTAs for eligible Australian passport-holders or full U.S. visa appointments for those who need them, with live tracking and consolidated billing via its Australia portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/)—a handy solution when a last-minute CES demo or Rugby League delegation suddenly appears on the calendar.
From a practical perspective, the slot times – SYD 21:00 departure arriving LAS 15:55, and LAS 20:20 departure arriving SYD 06:35 +2 – allow same-day onward connections to major U.S. business hubs such as Houston and Chicago, and early-morning arrivals into Australia for east-coast connections. Qantas Frequent Flyer members will earn and burn points at the usual long-haul rates, and corporate contracts can already be loaded.
Mobility managers should review travel policies that default to LAX/SFO gateways and update preferred-carrier logic in online booking tools. Companies sending equipment to trade shows will also benefit from simplified freight movements, as Qantas Freight plans to belly-hold high-value electronics on the 787 rotations.
