American Airlines flight lands after its longest route ever

An American Airlines flight has completed the carrier’s longest ever passenger route from the U.S. to Australia.

Flight AA7 took off from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at 10:11 p.m. UTC on Saturday, October 26, landing at Brisbane Airport in Australia at 5:55 a.m. local time on Monday, October 28.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was in the air for 15 hours and 44 minutes, traveling 13,636 kilometers (8,473 miles), according to Flightradar24.

The inaugural flight marks a new regular route announced earlier this year by the airline, which will take passengers between Texas and Queensland several times a week. The first return flight to Dallas will embark on Tuesday, October 29.

American Airlines’ vice president of international operations, José Freig, said: “The excitement we saw when we first announced our new Brisbane flight back at the start of the year was overwhelming, so to have finally landed in the Sunshine State from Dallas-Fort Worth is a momentous occasion for American.

“With this new route, our customers in Brisbane will have access to our largest hub, from where they can connect to explore unexplored and much-loved destinations around the world,” he added.

Newsweek has contacted American Airlines for additional comment via email outside of regular working hours.

Brisbane Airport CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff, said: “Today’s arrival of American Airlines from Dallas-Fort Worth is a landmark moment for Brisbane and Queensland. From the Lone Star State to the Sunshine State, this new connection between two hubs unlocks incredible potential on both sides of the Pacific.”

Courtesy of Brisbane Airport, plane enthusiasts could watch the landing on a livestream hosted on YouTube. While Flightradar24 tracking data showing how many followed the flight as it made its journey across the Pacific Ocean is not currently available, it was predicted to be one of the website’s most followed journeys.

“We expect this to be one of the most tracked flights on Flightradar24, with people around the world tuning in to follow the aircraft’s progress from Dallas-Fort Worth to Brisbane, especially keen to watch the livestream of the landing,” said Ian Petchenik, director of communications at Flightradar24.

“With considerable international route growth this year, Brisbane’s popularity amongst aviation enthusiasts has climbed as well.”

More than 400 people entered a competition to see the aircraft touch down at the airfield in Brisbane, the airport said.

Brisbane is the second Australian route served by American Airlines, with a daily service between Los Angeles International Airport and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport already in operation.

The airline has launched several new international routes to Europe this year. In June, it launched new routes from Philadelphia International Airport to Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as Naples, Italy, and Nice, France. Flights to Barcelona to Dallas-Fort Worth also began in May.