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Dreamliner launch a dream come true for Queensland tourism

Direct News Source

30-Jan-2018 Qantas's newest fleet of aircraft, the Dreamliners, will take off for the first time from Brisbane to Los Angeles in September in what Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones is today describing as an historic milestone for Queensland.

Under a deal secured by the Palaszczuk Government, Queensland will be home to the East Coast and Pacific operations of Qantas's newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner.

The inaugural flight announced by Qantas today has been scheduled for September 1 and will involve the first six of an eight-strong fleet worth $1 billion to the iconic Australian company.

"The announcement of a start date for Qantas's Dreamliners is a historic day for Queensland," Ms Jones said.

"These start-of-the art, ultra-long-range aircraft open up a wealth of new opportunities to tourism operators in our great state - putting us in direct flight range of cities like Dallas, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Chicago and Seattle.

"We know this will open up new tourism markets for Queensland."

While Qantas's seventh and eighth Dreamliners are being produced this service will be complimented by up to three Boeing 747 flights.

Ms Jones said she welcomed Qantas's announcement to base half its Dreamliner fleet in Brisbane, supporting 470 jobs.

"The Palaszczuk Government is committed to developing Queensland's tourism industry and we know that strengthening our links to key tourism markets will be a big part of that," she said.

"That's why we're investing an extra $134 million in this sector in this term of government - much of which will go towards attracting new direct flights to Queensland.

"We've got the runs on the board when it comes to tourism. In our last term, we secured additional flights bringing 740,000 new inbound seats to Queensland and generating up to $570 million for our economy each year.

"We're committed to build on that great work and we know partnerships with airlines like Qantas will be instrumental in making that happen."

Source: Queensland Government