Qantas has announced new flights between Melbourne and San Francisco from late 2018. The airline is planning to pirate the route with its new Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
At the same time, it has announced that it will be re-balancing its flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles. Currently scheduled to operate 6 days a week between Melbourne and Los Angeles, the 787-9 frequency will decrease to free up the 787 for flights to San Fransisco.
This represents a further reduction in capacity between Melbourne and Los Angeles. While the daily A380 service remains, the 787-9 service replaced an existing daily 747 service.
In explaining the change, Qantas say a large number of its existing passengers to Los Angeles continue on to San Francisco. For those passengers, this will save a transit stop,
The new service is expected to commence in late 2018. Tickets for the new flight are likely to go on sale early in 2018.