Southern Cross Route

Southern Cross Route is a term for passenger flights from Australasia (or Oceania) to Europe via the Western Hemisphere. The term was coined by British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines when they began services from Sydney to Vancouver in 1949.[1][2] The route was extended to Europe following the signing of an air services agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom in 1957,[3] which saw Qantas flying from Sydney to London via Los Angeles and New York using Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations.[4]: 145  The name is in honor of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's historic 1928 flight in the aircraft Southern Cross.[5] The equivalent route running through the Eastern Hemisphere is known as the Kangaroo Route.[6]

Qantas operated on the route from 1949 — 1974, when it discontinued the London leg of the trip.[4]: 148  BOAC began flying to Australia via the South Pacific in April 1967.[7] Air New Zealand operated an Auckland–Los Angeles–London Heathrow from 1982 — 2020.[8] Other airlines to use the route include Air Tahiti Nui, French Bee, Air France, Air Canada, Aerolíneas Argentinas, and LAN Airlines.

Operations

Aside from codeshares and alliances/partners, airlines on the Southern Cross Route (with seasonal destinations in italics) are the following:

Airline	Destination in Oceania	Intermediate Stop	Destination(s) in Europe
Air Canada	Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney	Vancouver	Dublin, Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Zurich
Air France	Papeete	Los Angeles	Paris–CDG
Air Tahiti Nui	Papeete	Los Angeles
		Seattle[9]
American Airlines	Auckland, Brisbane	Dallas/Fort Worth[10]	Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Madrid, Paris–CDG, Rome–Fiumicino
	Auckland,[11] Sydney	Los Angeles	London–Heathrow
Delta Air Lines	Auckland,[12][13] Brisbane, Papeete, Sydney		Paris–CDG[14]
French Bee	Papeete	San Francisco	Paris–Orly
LATAM Chile	Auckland, Melbourne[15] Sydney[16]	Santiago	Madrid[17]
United Airlines	Sydney	Houston[18]	Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Munich
	Melbourne, Sydney	Los Angeles	London–Heathrow
	Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch,[19][20] Melbourne, Papeete, Sydney	San Francisco	Amsterdam[21], Barcelona[22][23] Frankfurt, London–Heathrow, Munich, Paris–CDG, Rome–Fiumicino[24], Zurich

See also

• Kangaroo Route – the Southern Cross Route's counterpart traveling via the Eastern Hemisphere
• Wallaby Route - Route launched by Qantas in 1952 connecting Sydney to Johannesburg
• Fiesta Route - Qantas' route that existed from 1964-1975 connecting Sydney to London via Fiji, Tahiti, Acapulco, Mexico City, The Bahamas, and Bermuda.[25][26]

References

1. "GIANT AIRLINER ON PIONEERS' TRACKS". The Sun. No. 12, 186. New South Wales, Australia. 16 February 1949. p. 10 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Huge Airliner to Fly Across to Vancouver". The Canberra Times. Vol. 23, no. 6822. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 February 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Exchange Of Air Routes In New Agreement". The Canberra Times. Vol. 31, no. 9, 293. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 October 1957. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
4. Rimmer, Peter J. (2005). "Australia Through the Prism of Qantas: Distance Makes a Comeback" (PDF). Otemon Journal of Australian Studies. 31. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
5. "QANTAS Airways celebrates 60 years of flying to the United States". World Airline News. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
6. "London to Perth: Everything you need to know about the first non-stop flights from Britain to Australia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
7. Annual report by the Minister for Civil Aviation for year 1966-67 (Report). Commonwealth Government Printer. 1967. p. 12. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Air New Zealand to axe London flights after 36 years". Stuff. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
9. "TN57 schedule. (Air Tahiti Nui flight: Paris -> Tahiti via Seattle)". info.flightmapper.net. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
10. "Direct nonstop flights (Operated by AA from DFW)". FlightsFrom.com. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
11. "American Airlines Resumes Los Angeles – Auckland Route From Dec 2023". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
12. "Delta launches first-ever service from Los Angeles to Auckland and more paths to popular European destinations | Delta News Hub". news.delta.com. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
13. "Delta pauses Auckland route in move that could see US fares climb". www.stuff.co.nz. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
14. "Delta Air Lines To Offer Robust Summer 2023 Europe Schedule | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
15. "LATAM resumes Melbourne-Santiago". Business Traveller. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
16. "Latam Airlines brings back non-stop Sydney to Santiago flights - Executive Traveller". www.executivetraveller.com. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
17. "LATAM Flights between Australia/NZ and Europe". Flightsfrom.com. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
18. "United adds Houston – Sydney service from Jan 2018". Routes. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
19. "United Announces Largest South Pacific Expansion in Aviation History, Including New Direct Flight to Christchurch, New Zealand". United - Newsroom. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
20. "The Americans are coming, so are cheaper airfares!". NZ Herald. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
21. "United adds 3 new European destinations". SFGate. 30 August 2018.
22. "United Adds San Francisco – Barcelona From late-May 2024". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
23. "United Airlines flights from San Francisco to Barcelona". info.flightmapper.net. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
24. Rains, Taylor. "United announced 7 new international routes for summer 2023 as post-pandemic demand to Europe continues to soar — see the full list". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
25. LondonAirTravel (1 May 2022). "The History Of Flight Between The UK and Australia From 1935 Onwards". London Air Travel. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
26. "Quiz: Beach Boys Lyric or Qantas Route?". Qantas. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2022.