Aloha! Qantas takes off between Melbourne and Honolulu

Operating three return flights per week with an Airbus A330 aircraft, the new service adds more than 80,000 seats each year between Melbourne and the Hawaiian capital.

Qantas' connection to Hawaii stretches back more than 80 years. The airline first operated to The Aloha State in 1941 through Pacific ferry flights, before launching scheduled passenger services in 1954. Since then, Honolulu has played an important role in the airline's network and has become of the most popular international leisure routes for Qantas customers.

Key information:

• Flights will operate three times weekly on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
• QF105 Melbourne-Honolulu 1705-0735
• QF106 Honolulu-Melbourne 0935-1655+1
• Flight time: 10 hours 20 minutes
• Operated by Qantas Airbus A330 aircraft with 28 Business and 243 Economy seats.
• Eligible Qantas customers and Frequent Flyers will have access to the Qantas International First and Business Lounges in Melbourne and the Qantas International Business Lounge at Honolulu Airport.

History:

• During 1941: Qantas crews ferry 19 new Catalina flying boats across the Pacific for the RAAF.
• May 1954: Qantas' first scheduled passenger services to Hawaii take off from Sydney to Honolulu, stopping in Nadi before reaching Honolulu and traveling on to San Francisco. The flights are Qantas' first trans-Pacific services, operated by Lockheed L1049 Super Constellation aircraft.
• July 1959: The Boeing 707 takes over the route, marking the first trans-Pacific jet passenger services.
• April 1977: The first direct Qantas flights from Sydney to Honolulu take off with three flights per week operated by the Boeing 747. The flight operates Sydney to Honolulu and onward to San Francisco.
• February 1978: Qantas begins six day per week service from Melbourne to SFO via Honolulu with the Boeing 747.