Qantas to fly to San Francisco

SYDNEY - Qantas today announced the addition of San Francisco to its international network from March next year.

Qantas Executive General Manager John Borghetti said the new Sydney-San Francisco services would take the total number of Qantas return services to mainland USA to a record 39 flights a week.

He said Qantas would initially offer three non-stop weekly services on the route, operating three-class Boeing 747-400 aircraft, with launch fares starting at A$1299 return including taxes and charges.

Mr Borghetti said Qantas and Tourism Australia would conduct a major marketing campaign to support the new route and would continue to look at ways they could develop tourism opportunities between North America and Australia.

Mr Borghetti said Qantas would also introduce its own services to Vancouver, Canada, via San Francisco during the peak travel seasons from June 2006.

"We initially expect to introduce the Vancouver extensions during the peak travel periods, including the North American ski season. This is the first step to establishing year round services to Canada," he said.

"These two new destinations will provide passengers with unparalleled access to North America, with Qantas offering services to 23 destinations in North America, including our own flights to Los Angeles, New York, Honolulu, San Francisco and Vancouver as well as a range of codeshare services with partner airlines."